Point Blank
by Maverick7481
Summary: First ever IS combination fic between two different authors! The Russian Federation has found a male able to fly IS, he's a Sargent in the Battlefield Engineering Assault Regime, or BEAR, Special Forces, and is only 16! His name is Isaac Romanov, and he is one helluva Russian! Seolis Kraven and Rosario Hernandez both belong to zetis void! Please Review!
1. Chapter 1

**Sup everybody? Here'****s my crack at an IS fanfic, enjoy. OC heavy.  
**

* * *

Class 1-1 was abuzz with activity when Ichika Orimura and Houki Shinonono walked through the door. The Japanese boy and girl found their seats in the front row and sat down.

"Oh, Orimura-kun , did you hear the big news?" A brown haired girl with glasses asked the dark haired Asian boy.

"What news?" Ichika asked eagerly.

"Well," the girl continued, "According to what I heard, a new representative contender from Russia is coming to our class today. But the weird thing is that no one knows anything about it, not even the name of the contender. The only thing we know is that this person defeated TWO instructors in the entrance exam in a row."

"Two!" Houki marveled. "No way thats right. Most people could barely beat one!"

"We only have rumors to go on, but nevertheless we get a new classmate."

"Yeah I know!" another girl piped up, "She sounds really mysterious doesn't she? I wonder what she'll be like?"

"Its a little odd that we get a new student not even a week after school started huh?" Houki wondered out loud.

"You all seem really exited to meet her, but do you honestly think she could have done any of the things you say she did?" Cecillia Alcott questioned skeptically.

"I guess we'll find out, huh?" Ichika laughed, taking out his textbook and notes.

The bell rung and everyone took their seats as Yamada and Chifuyu came in and stood at the front of the class and unloaded their gear.

"Everyone, could I have your attention for just a few minutes please? Before we get ready for today's lessons, I'd like to take this chance to introduce a new student to our class, so please give your undivided attention okay?" Yamada said happily.

"Yes ma'am!" the class responded.

The class door hissed open and everyone gasped when they saw a dark-brown haired boy about 16 years old walk into the room. He was nearly 6'2 in height, 134lbs in weight, his eyes were a pretty green color and he had a small white scar under his left eye. He wore the normal IS Academy uniform, but the legs of his bottoms were tucked into black combat-stlye boots. He shifted his hands, and rubbed at a thick crimson bracelet he wore on his right wrist. He also wore a black backpack. A blue holographic square materialized next to him on the board, displaying his name in Japanese.

"Privet comrades," He greeted in a heavy Russian accent. "I am Sargent Isaac Romanov, Russia's second representative contender."

"A-a man?" one of the girls asked, confused.

"Da." Isaac said coolly, "I guess you could call me Russia's little secret."

"KYYYYAAAA!" the entire class screamed in unison, catching the Russian off guard.

"Huh-?" Isaac mouthed.

"He's so cute!"

"His accent is soooo hot!"

"Um." Isaac said, clearly confused.

"Enough! Shut up!" Chifuyu yelled over the class. She turned back to Isaac. "Romanov has something else to say, don't you Romanov?"

Isaac nodded, "Ah, da I do. Due to an agreement with the Russian Infantry Corps and the IS Academy, I am required to teach a class on advanced military combat tactics as well as elite firearms training to any student who wants to learn it."

"I'm sure everyone will have questions about you ,Romanov-san, but for now please take a seat." Chifuyu told the big Russian teen.

"Yes ma'am." Isaac said, and found an empty seat two seats behind Ichika.

Yamada tapped the board, and a graph materialized on it. "Now continuing from yesterday's lesson, the IS uses extradimentional space for equipment storage and weapon deployment..."

* * *

Isaac sunk back into his chair and sighed, thank God that class was done for today. All that talk about phase conductors and whatever receivers made his head hurt, when is that possibly going to be useful to know?. Isaac glanced down at his bracelet and smiled, he will have a chance to blow off some steam in the arena now at least.

"Excuse me." A female voice said, jarring Isaac out of his thoughts. When he looked up he saw a blonde haired European girl standing next to his desk. She was about 15, shorter then Isaac by a long shot, had blue eyes and a similarly colored band around her head. Isaac saw a dark haired Japanese girl by her side, as well as that Orimura Ichika guy everyone was talking about.

"Huh?" Isaac said half-aware of her presence.

"My! How rude a response!" She said in a posh English accent. "You should be more grateful that I even decided to talk to you."

"Don't be rude, Cecilia." the Japanese girl said. And the European girl flushed slightly.

"Ah izvineniya. I was distracted." Isaac grinned.

"Yes well, I'd like to formally introduce myself to you. I am Ceillia Alcott, England's representative contender." Cecillia said with a curtsy.

The Japanese girl sighed, "I'm Shinonono Houki."

Ichika smiled, "Orimura Ichika. Nice to meet you Romanov-san."

"Da, is good to meet you all." Isaac said.

Cecillia put her hands on Isaac's desk and leaned in," Romanov-san, I heard that you beat two instructors in the entrance exams, is this true?"

Isaac shrugged, "More or less, they gave me one of those Uchigane models to use and the first one charged me. I threw my sword at her and busted the IS's leg joint accidentally, causing her to eat dirt for about sixty feet and drain her shields. And the second one accused me of cheating and tried to slash me, but I ducked out of the way and tripped her up. And when she was on the ground I just beat her down bare-handed."

"Wow Romanov-san! You sound like you really know how to use IS!" Ichika exclaimed.

"Not at all, comrade. I had no idea what I was doing the whole time. I was just lucky I didn't kill myself zooming around like a bee on meth." Isaac responded with a rough laugh.

"But still that is still pretty impress-." Houki started, but was cut off by the ringing of the bell to start field training.

"Whoops, there it is. Sorry comrades I'll have to talk later." Isaac said sincerely. He started to unbutton his jacket and got halfway before he saw the embarrassed looks on Houki's and Cecillia's faces.

"What?" He asked, continuing his undressing and taking off his his jacket to show his well-defined body underneath. Several girls squealed in happiness at the sight of his naked torso, and Isaac just raised an eyebrow at them.

"What!" He repeated.

"H-how immodest! Undressing in front of women like that!" Cecillia practically shouted, quickly covering her eyes.

Houki copied Cecillia's movement, "What do you think your doing Romanov-san!"

Isaac dug into his pack and came out with a black IS suit top with red lines trailing down the shoulders. "I think I'm getting dressed for badass IS stuff, but I sense that disturbs you somehow." He tugged the top on until it fit tightly on his large muscular form.

"Yes it disturbs me! Its weird!" Houki answered hotly, her face flushing redder by the minute.

"Well if you don't like that then you might not want to watch this." Isaac warned as he unzipped his trousers, much to the enjoyment of the squealing mass of female students.

Ichika grabbed Isaac's shoulder and pulled away him a bit. "Okay Isaac, let's go do that somewhere else for now."

Isaac nodded as he was pulled out the class, "Da if you think it's best, Ichika."

"Ah Romanov-kun is so amazingly hot..." One of the other girls mused.

"Did you see his six-pack? Super sexy."

"Oh, and his voice just makes me melt~."

"Hurry up and get changed." Chifuyu ordered, seemingly unaffected by Isaac's performance.

* * *

"Okay, what did I do wrong again?" Isaac asked his Japanese friend as he took off his pants and revealed the black IS suit bottoms he was wearing underneath.

"I told you, you can't just change right in the classroom like that. It's not socially acceptable in Japan, or anywhere for that matter." Ichika explained for the third time as he finished changing into his blue IS suit and closed the door to his locker.

"Oh, but back in the Infantry Corps I changed with males and females all the time, so I don't really see how that's wrong." Isaac countered.

"Yeah I've been meaning to ask about that, you seem way too young to be in the military. Were you forced into it?" Ichika asked.

"Nah, I joined for family reasons." Isaac said.

"What, was your father in the military?"

Isaac opened his mouth to answer, but a glance at the wall clock hanging overhead changed his words. "Oh crap, we gotta get going dude!"

Isaac and Ichika both rushed out onto the dirt covered grounds of the IS Academy IS Arena 1 and kicked up a dust cloud as they barely made it to the group before the lesson started. Isaac noticed three Raphael Revive IS on the field and wondered why they were there.

"Now that we are all present," Chifuyu said with a glance at the two boys. "We can begin. The lesson for today is basic IS weapon summoning and basic shooting. So all holders of a Personal Machine please step out and claim a Revive for your group to use."

Ichika and Cecillia both stepped out and stood next to a Revive, and shortly after them, Isaac got out and claimed the last Revive.

"Romanov-kun has a personal IS?" a few girls whispered.

"As expected from a representative contender from Russia."

Isaac gripped his bracelet and it began to glow with a red light, he got a small smile on his face as the light turned even brighter red.

"Lock and load, Red Czar!" Isaac said as the light consumed his body. The light faded and Isaac was seen inside a slick, heavily armored crimson IS with an armored chestplate and a pair of red tinted goggles on his forehead. Isaac held his arms out and the light reappeared and blinked out quickly as a heavy, fully blackened AK-47 assault rifle with a dangerous looking grenade launcher under the barrel materialized in his hands. He tapped the curved clip into the rifle until her heard a click and cocked the bolt back quickly.

Isaac grinned at the group of girls, "Okay, who's first?"

* * *

**Sorry that was so short, I just wanted to introduce Isaac in the first chapter. But I promise the next ones will be alot longer. Thanks so much for reading, and please review! Kthxbye.  
**


	2. Rifles and Roommates

**Whats up interwebbers? I return with a new chapter! I said I would make longer chapters and I hope I didn't disappoint!**

* * *

"Okay doke artichokey, comrades. Gather round and listen up." Isaac said, clapping his IS hands and slinging his AK over his shoulder. He now held the battle rifle from his teams Raphael Revive in Red Czar's hands and displayed it for his students to see.

"Now before we get started, take a look at this gem of a gun. Ambidextrous magazine release and safety, twenty round magazine, holographic sight, and a beautiful matte black finish." Isaac said with an air of admirement as he cradled the large rifle. "This, girls, is one sexy gun."

A few of the girls looked at each other, "Um, Sensei you really like guns huh?"

Isaac grinned wolfishly, "Da, I do. Thats why my IS's weapons are all 2nd Generation guns."

"EH!" the girls all said together, "Why would you want outdated tech on a 3rd Gen machine?" one asked.

Isaac was still grinning when he answered, "Because lasers are for kiski who can't handle good old recoil. Plus bullets are better."

"But sensei, energy weapons are more effective against IS then old guns are, its been proven." another girl said.

"Wrong, lasers do more damage to shielding, not IS itself." Isaac said factually as he lifted the battle rifle "But this will fuck up anything you point it at with a .308 IS Caliber round."

"IS Caliber?" the whole group asked out loud. And Isaac put the battle rifle back near the Revive.

Isaac unslung his AK and took out its curved clip. Big golden bullets peeked out from the top of the magazine, and Isaac thumbed one out and held it in his fingertips. "Make sure you pay attention now, comrades. I won't say this again."

The girls gathered around Red Czar and stared with wide eyes as Isaac began talking, his rough Russian accent floating across the dusty field laced with knowledge and experience.

"When the Second Generation IS came about, so did the idea of weaponizing them and making them war machines. The Alaska Treaty stopped people from using them as machines for war, but didn't stop anyone from weaponizing them. I believe Japan made the first weaponized IS, what was it called? Oh yeah, the White Knight. Well anyway, the whole world got into a sort of arms race to make the best weapons for IS, the best being America, Germany and Russia. Soon, everyone focused on developing guns for IS use, but they didn't know how to categorize the different ammunition for the guns, so they modeled IS ammo out of preexisting ammo types and just made them IS sized. Thus the title of IS Caliber came about, and all IS ammo was classified this way. My AK's rounds are 7.62mm IS Caliber and the 40mm IS Caliber grenade for example because they are modeled after the conventional ammo just scaled up to an IS level, same goes with my other weapons. Even though guns are considered 'outdated' by the general public, they are actually better then current energy weapons in many ways. The ability for special ammo types is a big advantage over lasers, such as antipersonnel, armor piercing, incendiary, explosive and even the new shield disrupting pulse slug ammo all have more to offer then standardized or overcharged energy weapons. Guns also fire and function on inertia or gas from fired shots, making them more reliable then lasers that fire using compressed plasma and electronic systems to fire them. A crossed wire, sparking circuit, or even malicious white noise interference from other electronics have the chance however remote to turn any energy weapon into a super heated handheld bomb. Ive always found that a good old gun is better to have on the battlefield then some laser gun that may blow up in my face and kill me and anyone standing around me, I've had this view even before I could pilot IS back in Russia."

"Wow sensei is so cool!' several girls swooned.

Isaac reloaded his rifle and raised it to his shoulder, leveling it at the holo-target they were meant to use "Plus, guns do THIS." He held the trigger down as a spray of hot, IS Caliber lead erupted from the barrel of his weapon loudly, shredding the holo-target into pieces while raining spent shell casings down on the ground. The rifle clicked, and Isaac popped the magazine out with a big old grin on his face. He turned to his students.

"You know how we say own in Russia comrades? Owned!" He yelled happily with a rough laugh.

Several of the girls had sweat beading on their brows, "Sensei is...kinda scary."

"Hey Isaac-san!" Ichika said as he and his group walked over to Isaac's. Ichika was clad in a white and blue IS with huge wing units that just broadcasted speed and maneuverability, and he held a Revive battle rifle in his hands awkwardly.

"Yo chelovek. What can I be doing for you?" Isaac said when Ichika got close.

"Well I uh..." Ichika started as he hefted the battle rifle into view and still held it awkwardly. "I have no idea how to use this."

Isaac blinked once, then burst out laughing.

"Eh?" Ichika said in surprise.

"Oh, shit. Sorry comrade, its just weird that you don't know that. How do you plan on using your IS's guns if you can't even use this simple piece?" Isaac questioned, and Ichika looked away.

"My IS is a close combat machine, I don't have any guns." Ichika drew a bokken-like sword from extradimentional space and made it open and have a blue energy blade flare to life before holding it out for Isaac to see. "I just have this."

Isaac winced visibly, "Ouch, that sucks really bad. But I guess its better suited to you, it takes a long time to shoot well and you don't really have that time right?" Isaac took the rifle out of Ichika's hand and carefully went over it.

"You are right, I don't know anything about guns."

"Ichika, I'd like for you to sign up for my class. I can teach you to shoot and also what I know about CQB fights, its limited to bare hands and knives, but the same principals apply to swords I guess." Isaac said without looking up as released the magazine and clicked the sighting dial on the scope of the rifle skillfully.

"Okay, I need all the help I can get. Houki is already training me a little bit, but I do want to learn about guns." Ichika said happily.

Isaac nodded and scanned Ichika's group slowly before he located Houki. "Shinonono-san, you will take my class also, for convenience sake." he said in almost an orderlike fashion.

"What! But I don't need any extra help! I already know about guns!" Houki said hastily.

Isaac sniffed and clicked the safety of the battle rifle off, "Is that so?"

"Yeah it is!"

Isaac raised the rifle up and leveled it at Houki's head with a sadistic grin on his face and madness in his eyes.

"Wha-" Houki began.

"Shinonono-san!" The girls yelled.

Isaac widened his eyes and pulled the trigger.

_Click_

"Huh?"

"Gotcha comrades." Isaac mused. He let the rifle fall back to his side.

Houki's eyes were still wide and trembling, "Wha...WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!"

"What gave you away of course, you don't know nothin bout guns." Isaac said, tapping the rifle. "No magazine, bolt is open, and the gun has an antilock system when it isn't cocked."

"But I-." Houki started.

"Everyone who flinched is automatically in the class too!" Isaac announced. "Don't try to weasel outta it, I saw each one of ya wince. Class starts at 6pm sharp and ends at midnight, if you are late you stay after for additional lessons with me." Isaac gave the group of girls a scary look "And I promise that I won't be gentle, oh no...not at all."

All the girls blushed, and more then a few squealed among themselves. "Sensei is so bold!"

"Huh," Isaac said "Usually that makes the new recruits piss themselves, but lyuboĭ, they're motivated in any case."

Ichika laughed nervously, "You sure do have alot to do now, huh Isaac-san?"

Isaac shrugged, "Da, but I need more stuff to do, regular classes are kinda boring."

"Have you given any though on how you will train them?" Ichika asked.

Isaac grinned, "Duh, I teach them the Russian way comrade."

* * *

**Two hours later, Dorm building, 4th floor.**

* * *

Isaac cracked his neck as he shifted the weight of his two big black rucksacks on his shoulder. He glanced at a piece of paper he was given by the information desk when he first came to the Academy with his room number typed on it as well as his room keycard, 4201. Isaac looked at the rooms surrounding him and saw that he was already at his room.**  
**

"Lucky guess." Isaac mumbled to himself. He slid the keycard into the door slot and a green light blinked on the doorknob while a small click sounded off. Isaac pushed the door open and what he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.

His room was...nice, very nice in fact. There were cushy looking beds parallel to each other, a fully functional bathroom (that had no toilet Isaac noted Isaac noted) and even had a desktop computer on the long desk in front of thee beds. Isaac closed the door silently and threw his rucksacks on the bed closest to the door, he would need to get used to such a nice room like this if he was staying long term. Isaac undid his blazer's buttons and zipper and unbuttoned his cufflinks, showing his defined six pack.

The Russian unzipped one of his rucksacks and pulled out his phone as well as a bottle of clear liquid, he twisted the top off the bottle and savored the scent that came with it. Goddamn him for adding to the fire of a popular Russian stereotype, but by the gods he needed a drink soon or he was gonna punch someone. Isaac took a swig as he quickly typed in his phone's password and flipped to his contact list, he tapped the screen and a holographic screen came out of the phone and suspended in midair as the telltale dial tone rang.

The screen crackled and snapped into focus as a sleepy looking Russian man of about 24 years with a blanket half covering him came on. His blue eyes were locked in a deathglare at Isaac.

"Goddammit Ize, you have any idea what fucking time it is?" He said with all the grace of a wildebeest. His voice was wrapped in a Russian accent, but was also somewhat slurred.

"Niko is five in the afternoon, the fuck are you still in bed for? Getting over the free drinks on the plane?" Isaac countered.

"Ding ding ding...we have a winner, tell him what he wins Archie." Niko responded as he buried his head back into his pillow.

Isaac grinned, "What?"

"Sorry, I'm still quite drunk from the plane ride over there." Niko paused and squinted at the screen. "How'd that go by the way?"

"We crashed into a shoe-making factory in China and killed a lot of child laborers before the plane exploded and we died." Isaac said sarcastically.

Niko lifted his head from the pillow, "Whoa...for real?"

Isaac shook his head, "Tupitsa."

"Fuck you kindly sir, hows your fabulous adventure in the wonderful world of teenage hotties been so far? Keep in mind that everything you say is goin on the internet." Niko asked.

Isaac shrugged, "Is normal here I guess, class is boring as all hell and I start my class on Thursday."

Niko smiled evilly, showing all his white teeth. "Thats not what I asked you Ize." He sang, "You really have no idea how much of a lucky bastard you are. Gettin a golden ticket to the Holy freaking Grail of every young man's dreams just like that, AND you have a group of ladies to yourself in your class? Window of goddamn opportunity staring you in the face comrade, three years of THAT and you go down in the legends man people will write songs about it!"

"Yeah, I do have a chance to be a really good soldier here and teach others to follow my example." Isaac responded.

Niko pinched the bridge of his nose, "You are fucking killing me Ize. Let me live vicariously through you!"

"Huh?"

Niko waved a hand, "Nevermind man, your first payment came in not too long ago. I already sent it to your funds."

"Da, good." Isaac said, he chewed his bottom lip anxiously. "How's Yuri doing? Is she still okay?"

Niko nodded sternly, "Yeah, the government kept their promise. She should be out and about in about five months, give or take a few weeks."

Isaac sighed in relief. "Good, good. Oh man, that worried me."

"Don't worry bout it, they take the payment directly out of your national funds to pay for it all. Plus you get some on the side." Niko informed his young friend.

"Thanks for all your help Nikolai, I'll let you get back to sleep now." Isaac said.

Niko nodded, "Do svidaniya, Isaac."

Isaac disconnected and drank more of his vodka right from the bottle just as he heard a knock at his door, he pushed himself up and took his bottle with him. Whoever was there knocked again, louder this time.

"Da, da. I heard the first time." Isaac muttered as the knocking continued on. Isaac yanked open the door and he imminently stopped in his tracks to catch a dark blue haired girl from falling on he face, she landed right in his arms and gripped his sleeve.

"Ah, s-sorry. " she stammered out. She looked up and when she saw Isaac's face she turned slightly red.

"Vir, comrade. Can I be helping you?" Isaac asked, totally oblivious to her discomfort.

The girl jumped out of his arms and blushed slightly again. She was close to Isaac's age, about 16, she was still shorter then him like most of the girls were, nearing 5'6. Her dark blue hair was lower back length and tied in a loose ponytail with a red ribbon that had small white shuriken designs on it, she had pretty green eyes and wore the normal Academy uniform with a slightly shorter skirt and black stockings. Isaac looked past her and saw a medium sized suitcase on the ground.

"This is room 4201, right?" She asked, peeking back at the number on the door.

"Yep, name is Isaac Romanov, what can I do for you?" Isaac responded, propping himself up on the doorway and swishing his bottle around.

The girl gathered her suitcase and brushed some hair out of her eyes, "I'm Aieko Shizune, and I guess I'm your roommate starting today."

Isaac paused his swishing, "What? Roommates?"

Aieko nodded, "Yes." She then glanced quickly at Isaac's bare chest and blushed again.

"Please take care of me, okay?" She asked cutely with a wink. She pushed past Isaac and walked into the room and settled into the empty bed.

"What the hell..." Isaac said silently as he took another drink.

This school was getting interesting after all.

* * *

**There ya have it, as always thank you for reading and please review, it helps alot! Kthxbye.**


	3. Cold War 2

**Hey all you IS lovers! Gotta real juicy chap for y'all this time around, we finally get to see how this crazy Russian teaches a bunch of girls to handle good, hard, Russian-made...guns, yeah guns! No time to waste, come comrades!**

**Oh also, zetis void and I have begun a crossover between our fics, so check out his fic to get a feel for his OC if you want.  
**

* * *

Aieko tightened her uniform top and glanced over at her newfound roommate while fiddling with her tie and saw he was still heavily asleep with that bottle still in his hand, mostly empty now because he accidentally spilled it on the carpet in his sleep after mumbling something about "Crazy zombie bitches coming to steal my driver's license." He never did fully take off his uniform, he just undid the blazer and took it off sometime in the night alongside his belt and boots so that he was naked from the waist up. Aieko trailed her eyes once again down his form, and found herself smiling before she knew it while suggestive thoughts flooded her mind. She shook the smile off and looked over at the his digital clock and saw that class started in thirty minutes.

"Romanov-kun, its time to get up." Aieko said to the sleeping Russian. Who just replied with a inaudible mumble.

Aieko walked over to his bedside and shook his shoulder vigorously, "Romanov-kun! Its morning, time to go to class!"

"Da," Isaac said sleepily, "Just attach the primer to the detonator and set the hammer, no fuckups or we get a facefull of C4 ponyatyĭ?"

Aieko kept shaking him before a perfectly diabolical idea crossed her mind and made her stop. She grinned slyly as she undid her tie and unbuttoned her uniform top so that you could see the supertight purple and black IS suit underneath her school clothes that fit her surprisingly well endowed, voluptuous figure. She slid her legs over Isaac's waist and straddled him before she leaned in close to his face.

"Isaac-kun~." She said in a singsong seductive voice.

Isaac groaned and dropped the bottle in his hand as he used both hands to rub his eyes, "Goddamn, morning already? Musta been one helluva snooze cruise." He finally seemed aware of the soft pressure on his waist and looked up only to have Aieko's face right in his. Isaac's eyes widened.

"Time to get up, Isaac-kun." She said in her earlier voice.

"Svyatago Boga na nebesakh..." Isaac said in surprise.

"Oh I think Ize is up, just not in the way you might think skuchatʹ." A familiar voice said from Isaac's nightstand.

Isaac whipped his head over to his nightstand to see a smiling Niko on his phone's holoscreen dressed in a form fitting black shirt with forest camo print trousers and black boots similar to Isaac's, he also wore a forest camo patrol cap that partially covered his eye level dark brown hair. "Nikolai, holy shit man!"

Niko tipped his cap at his young friend, "Ize, my man. You REALLY lucked out to get one zat hot. I really don't know if I should punch you or hug you."

Isaac glanced at Aieko and he blushed faintly, "Its not like zat, Niko. Zis is my roommate Shizune Aieko."

Niko waved at Aieko and smiled, "Privet ma'am, I hope you'll take care of my buddy and all his, um how you say "Needs".

Aieko smiled cutely, "Don't worry, I'll behave...to an extent."

"Niko what have you done?" Isaac asked angerly.

Niko raised his hands defensively, with another wide grin, "Hey man, none of my business what or who you decide to do over there."

Isaac groaned "What the fu-."

"But anyvay," Niko continued looking back at Isaac with a slightly more serious look. "Isaac, your AI should be done uploading into your IS caller sometime today. So make sure to introduce yourself and work out any kinks you find with Red Czar with her, you may also request new ammo types and training equipment through her." Niko glanced at his watch and grimaced, "But you should be getting to class right about the now, so because I'm your longtime friend I will help you out. WAKE THE FUCK UP YOU WORTHLESS DOG! IS TIME TO RISE AND RAZE!"

Isaac jump out of bed and startled the hell out of his roommate who was still on top of him. "Yes Captain!"

"Aww," Aieko pouted, "It was just getting good..."

Niko grinned, "Ize make sure you do well here, the Motherland has her eyes on you at all times. So no fuckups, got it?"

"Rodzher." Isaac said with a salute.

"Good, also," Niko said in sudden realization, "I'll be over there pretty soon to speak with Ms. Orimura to iron out za kinks of the contract between Russia and za ISA, so be on your best fucking behavior got it?"

Isaac looked at Niko sceptically, "I'd worry more about you, Orimura-sensei will kick your ass right back to Moscow if you step outta za line."

Niko smiled back in response, "See ya in a few weeks Ize, don't do nothin..." He glanced at Aieko expectantly, "Explicit." Niko cut his transmission before Isaac could say anything back.

Aieko re-buttoned her top and was tying her necktie as she watched Isaac throw on his blazer and quickly tie his tie. She was surprised to find him ready to go in two minutes flat and waiting by the door for her. Isaac glanced back at her with an air of annoyance.

"Hey, vares zat hustle and bustle you were just in?" He asked.

Aieko flipped her hair back and tied it back with her shuriken ribbon, leaving two locks up front. "Women take a while to get pretty, Romanov-san. Especially when they want something."

Isaac raised an eyebrow, "O-kay lyuboĭ, but mind hurrying up? I do need to speak to Orimura-sensei about za class arrangements."

"That reminds me, I also sighed up for your class." Aieko said as she finally finished dressing and her and Isaac went out into the dorm hallway and started walking together.

"Is zat so? Class starts today at 6pm and ends at 12pm. If you show up late, prepare for your punishment." Isaac warned in a lighthearted voice.

"Ohh," Aieko said, as she slip up close to Isaac and rubbed up against him. "So you'll punish me if I'm late?"

Isaac gave Aieko a weird look and withdrew himself, "Da, anyone who is late has to stay after class for za additional training."

"Mmm." Aieko mused, "So who was that man on the phone earlier?"

"Zat was my handler and supervisor, as well as my personal friend and huge asshole, Captain Nikolai Belinska. He was assigned to keep me in line by za Prime Minister of Russia and serve as my adviser." Isaac responded neutrally, he looked at Aieko out of the corner of his eye. "Thanks for giving him za wrong idea with vhatever stunt you were pulling."

Aieko smiled cutely again, and Isaac swallowed nervously. How is it that this one girl could make a hardened soldier who ran through hell and fire on a daily basis without blinking nervous? It is truly a mystery.

"Are you saying you didn't like it, Isaac-kun?" She asked sweetly.

"N-nyet," Isaac said, turning away from Aieko's gaze. "I hate za surprises."

"Really?" Aieko asked flirtatiously, "I'll keep that in mind..."

Isaac sighed deeply, and messed with his bracelet.

It was gonna be a weird day, he could tell.

* * *

**Class 1A, 6AM. Pre-class free time.  
**

* * *

Isaac waled into the classroom, relived that Aieko had been in Class 3 and stopped making him uncomfortable. He took his seat and got out his books.

"Ah, Isaac-san. Good morning." Ichika welcomed as he, Houki, Cecilla, and two other girls Isaac didn't recognize sat down around him. One had blonde hair in a short ponytail and purple eyes, she also wore a male uniform, Isaac found that weird. The other had silver hair and red...eye, the other eye was hidden under a black eyepatch with red trim, she wore a female uniform with wide pant legs and a similar brand of boots that Isaac wore.

"Utro, comrades." Isaac responded. He glanced at the two girls he didn't know and smiled. "Privet, I'm Isaac Romanov of Russia. Is nice to be meeting you."

The blonde smiled, "It's good to meet you as well Romanov-san, I'm Charles Dunoa from France."

Isaac grinned, holiest of shits it was a guy.

"I am Laura Bodewig, Germany's Representative, and a 2nd Lieutenant in the Schwarzer Hase Special Forces." the sliver haired girl said in a clear voice.

"Oh, your a soldier too? Zat is nice to know, I was thinking zat everyone here was just za normal civies." Issac said with a laugh.

"Hey Romanov-kun." A girl from amidst a large group of girls asked the large Russian teen as he flipped disconcertingly through the IS beginners book and chatted with Ichika, Houki, Cecilla, Charles, and Laura.

"Da?" Isaac said when he looked up.

"We didn't get to ask you any questions yesterday, cuz it was so busy. So we were wondering if now was a good time?"

"Oh yeah, we have also been wanting to know more about you haven't we guys?" Ichika asked his four friends.

"Yeah, I have been curious." Houki answered.

"It is the duty of the noble to know the common folk." Cecilla answered.

Isaac shrugged and closed his book, "Good a time as any I guess. Proceed comrades, I'll answer to za best of my ability."

"Okay, I'll go first." Ichika said. "Isaac-san, you said you were in the military but aren't you kinda young for that?"

"Not at all comrade, While I was the youngest Russian B.E.A.R operative I was also a accomplished marksman by za time I enlisted." Isaac said.

"B.E.A.R?" Houki asked.

"It means Battlefield Engineering Assault Regime, correct Isaac-san?" Cecilla half asked.

Isaac smiled, "Da it does, nicely done Cecilla. Za Russian Special Forces outfit known as B.E.A.R is za Russian contribution to za National European Special Technology aSsociation or N.E.S.T.S for the short."

"The United Kingdom's N.E.S.T.S division is called R.I.S.G or Royal Infinite Stratos Guard." Cecilla added proudly.

"Da, nearly every nation with IS Cores to their names have as least za one special team or organization in response to N.E.S.T.S." Isaac finished before he leaned back in his chair, "I am thinking zat only Cuba, Afganistan, Africa, and za China don't have one currently, but I'm sure there are more who don't."

"Isaac-san, how did you end up in B.E.A.R?" Charles asked.

"I chose to be there for za financial reasons." Isaac responded.

"So, what? Just for money?" Houki asked.

"Da, but I always sent every kopek I could spare back to my semʹya, to my family. It never mattered how much I sent back, I always felt it wasn't enough to pay zem back."

"Why would you think that?" Cecilla wondered.

"Zat is a personal question comrade, I von't answer zat." Isaac said with an edge.

"O-kay, how'd you find out you could fly IS?" A girl randomly asked.

"Zat is classified by za Motherland, can't be telling you something zat might be exposing her secrets and getting me sent to prison or za worse." Isaac replied with a smile.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" a pink haired girl suddenly asked and the surrounding girls hushed her down.

"Da, several." Isaac said nonchalantly, and looked up to see everyone's shocked faces. "Vat? I say something veird?"

Houki leaned in closer to Isaac with fire blazing dangerously in her eyes and Isaac found himself surrounded by those very same eyes by all the other girls, Isaac shifted in his seat before Houki spoke. "Several girlfriends?"

"Ispravitʹ, I have several friends who are za girls. Most of zem are back in za Russia's military forces." Isaac replied coolly, then he looked down suddenly. "Some are dead."

"That's not what she meant Isaac-san," Cecilla injected, "She meant do you have a significant other?"

Isaac got a knowing look on his face, "Ohh, no comrades. I do not have a girlfriend like zat."

A the girls immediately started whispering to themselves and glancing back at Isaac, who just sat patiently with Ichika. Isaac's bracelet suddenly started vibrating and pulsing red, so he gripped it with his other hand and a red holoscreen popped up in front of him with a picture of a blackened bear with multiple cuts and stab wounds holding an Ak-47u in its teeth and had the Russian flag draped over it's back, the symbol of the B.E.A.R Special Forces.

"Izvinite comrades, I might be taking this call." Isaac said as he got up and walked out of the classroom without another word and stood out in the hallway, many of the girls stared at him through the classroom door as he touched the screen and a older man of nearly 65 years with silver hair and a cigar clenched in his teeth came into view.

Isaac snapped into a crisp salute as soon as the man came into his view, "General Morozov, dobroe utro sir."

The General returned Isaac's salute, and Isaac dropped his as soon as the General did. "Situation report Sargent." He said in a gruff tone.

"Sir, Red Czar and I have arrived safely at the ISA and the B.E.A.R weapons class has been greenlighted by Orimura Chifuyu. Nothing else to report, sir." Isaac reported out in a clear voice.

"Da, all copy. Has N completed her download yet?" The General asked with a puff of smoke.

"Nyet, but the data handlers said she should be finished sometime today, sir."

The General sighed and rubbed his wrinkled forehead, "Zat damned AI better be worth all this hassle. Carry on Sargent Romanov, may the Motherland stand behind you always."

"And you as well." Isaac finished as the General cut transmissions. Isaac sighed deeply, that man made him nervous. Isaac looked at the classroom doorway and saw the door was closed and he could hear Orimura-sensei inside talking.

"Yebatʹ." Isaac swore. He was gonna catch hell from the teachers for being late his second day, but it really couldn't be helped. Maybe Orimura-sensei would understand...

Whatever Isaac was thinking, he lost it when a yellow and blue blur knocked him to the ground and pinned him to the floor with a wicked armbar. Isaac grunted when he hit the floor and clenched his teeth when the person twisted his arm that was held in the armbar.

"Pinned you again Ize~" His attacker said sweetly, giving his arm another painful twist.

Isaac tensed, there were only three people in the world who earned the right to call him that nickname, two were back in Russia and one was...oh shit. Isaac slowly looked over his shoulder and faced the blue haired, red eyed girl who held his arm tightly, she was his age and wore the normal IS uniform, but had a yellow tie instead of a red one and a yellow overcoat covering her uniform top, her tight stockings were an eye-catching crimson color that messed with Isaac's head, so he looked back up at her now grinning face.

"What are you looking down there for Ize?" She asked with a intentional blush.

"Ms. Sarashiki!" Isaac exclaimed, and grit his teeth again when his holder twisted his arm again in an unnatural direction.

"I told you not to address me so formally Ize, just call me Tatenashi." Tatenashi partially ordered the much larger Russian teenager.

Isaac pivoted his torso from underneath Tatenashi and broke out of the armbar. He then grabbed both of her wrists tightly and pinned her roughly to the ground. "You never could beat me in za drawn out fight , maybe you should be doing za surrender?"

Tatenashi considered this for a minute before grinning again, "No, I like being in this position with you."

When he heard that, Isaac imminently let go of Tatenashi's wrists and backed off when she stood up. Isaac got a better look at her no that she was standing up, and saw that she had grown quite a bit since the last time he saw her. Looking down at himself he noticed he might have as well.

"Ahh, you were too rough with me again Ize." Tatenashi half-complained as she rubbed her wrists and stretched out her arms over her head. "You need to be more gentle with girls, they're delicate you know." She instructed Isaac.

"Da, sorry. You know I hate za surprises. What are you doing here? Aren't you in za Class 4?" Isaac questioned, and his eyes narrowed when Tatenashi got that sly look she was legendary for.

"Thats all you have to say after you haven't seen me for four years?" Tatenashi said in a perfectly executed fake sad voice. "What a way to treat the girl you were promised to."

"You are still on zat huh? You never did tell what exactly zat was all about, but lyuboĭ I have za class to be getting to. So if you will be excusing me Ms. Sarashiki..." Isaac said as he began to walk to his classroom's door.

Tatenashi caught his hand and held him back, "Call me by my first name Isaac, do that and you can leave."

Isaac sighed, "Fine, do svidaniya Tatenashi."

Tatenashi gave Isaac a great big Russian bear hug, "Bye bye Ize, I'll see you again soon!"

"If you two are quite finished." Orimura-sensei said disdainfully from the classroom doorway.

"D-da, sorry instructor." Isaac said as he detached himself from Tatenashi and came inside the classroom. "So, vat did I miss?"

_Thwack!_

Isaac cradled the spot were Orimura-sensei whacked him with her clipboard and groaned in pain, he had been hit with bats, boards, lead pipes, and even bars of iron. But that damn clipboard freaking HURTS.

"Take your seat and shut up Romanov." Orimura-sensei ordered.

Isaac complied without a word and sat in his desk, flipping his book open to the right page and waiting for more orders. Isaac glanced up to the front of the class and did a double take when he saw a tall black haired girl standing up at the front of the class, Isaac found great difficulty in determining her nationality must be some kinda Western, maybe European heritage.

"If everyone will settle down, our new transfer student can begin their introduction." Yamada said as she turned to the girl. "Go ahead."

The girl smiled to the class, "My name is Seolis Kraven, I am the Representative Contender of America. It is very nice to meet you all." she said in a surprisingly deeper voice then expected.

Yamada nodded to the class, "Now are there any questions for Kraven-san."

"Da I talk to za American." Isaac said without raising his hand, "So, America finally gets in za gear and chooses a contender? O beskontrolʹnogo vremeni comrade."

"Is that supposed to be a question?" Seolis asked with an edge.

Isaac narrowed his eyes, "Quite za mouth you have zere, devushka. But nyet, I have no question for you. I already know I can beat you so why za bother?"

Seolis narrowed 'her' eyes, "I'm a man dammit!"

That shut Isaac up and got everyone's attention, "Either I'm far too drunk or I misunderstood you." Isaac said.

"KYAAA!" the class erupted again.

"Another man, that makes three in this week alone!"

"He's cute too! I wonder if he's a gentleman?"

"Ah I just love American boys~."

Isaac waved his hands around, "Now hold on just a goddamn moment! America has a MALE pilot? Khoroshyee gore za General isn't gonna like zat. Just vhen he had dismissed zhem as a threat..."

"While it's true that I represent America, all my gear IS and other are supplied by the Kraven Arms Corporation, not by the government." Seolis pointed out.

Cecllia perked up, "The Kraven Arms Corporation? The one that makes IS weapons?"

"Yes that one, my IS is the current crown jewel of Kraven Arms." Seolis said as a blue holoscreen appeared in front of him and displayed his IS's stats. "This is my IS, Flare Streak."

All the girls stared at the screen and soaked up the data displayed there.

"Its pretty fast, look how aerodynamic it is."

"It resembles my Blue Tears. And the specs are for a long range IS, but it's weapons are close range. How strange" Cecilla commented.

"Ichika, it's sabers are like your Yukihira." Houki said to Ichika.

Isaac finally decided to look at the Flare Streak's stats and had to admit that it was fast and mobile. But he saw something that disturbed him greatly.

"Where is it's guns, comrade?"

Seolis shrugged, "The ranged weapons are in the wings, but I like the sabers more."

"Say vhat?" Isaac asked with shock in his voice. "You are liking za swords more zen a gun? What the hell is the mater with you comrade? Guns are better for za killing then glorified glowstick like zat!"

Seolis turned to the Russian angerly, "That glowstick can slice through a solid six inches of steel and pierce ten inches easily."

"Da, all my guns can do zat even za SPAS-12 with buckshot or slug rounds. But vat I say is that swords don't belong in za modern warfare, guns belong there." Isaac said.

Seolis gave Isaac a weird look, "SPAS-12? A 2nd Gen gun I guess?"

Isaac nodded, "Da, regular guns are much better then energy weapons in fact."

"Maybe back in the 2nd Gen, but truth be told normal firearms are outdated and outclassed by laser weapons nowadays. Energy guns are much lighter then guns because they have plasma as a projectile instead of heavy bullets."

Isaac nodded, "Zat's true, but plasma lacks the mass or velocity to make a difference in solid armor, it would just burn it slightly and piss of za person you just shot. Were solid ammo would be leaving him wondering what train hit him before he explodes."

"That might be the case sometimes, but you have to remember that IS only fight other IS. And because energy weapons are meant to burn shielding they are the main choice for 3rd Gen IS." Seolis countered.

"If you wanna be za polite in a fight, go on and use zat comrade. But I vant to dent up an IS so they get za message and don't fuck with me next time." Isaac boasted.

Seolis smiled, "I'm interested to see how a 3rd Gen Russian IS preforms with 2nd Generation weapons, it certainly must be a sight."

Isaac returned the smile, "Da, I get it done in style the Russian way. Utter destruction."

"The two of you shut up now! This is not the place for tactical debates, but if you wish to continue then you may face each other in the arena." Orimura-sensei said as she regained composure.

At that moment a whispering student says "Wow Chifuyu sensei is as awesome as ever."

"I know right. She got the gorgeous Russian and American to stand down." says another whispering student.

A third whispering student says "Gorgeous really? But still a fight between two male I.S pilots and one of them not being Orimura is interesting to see."

Now the first whispering student says "Quiet I'm trying to hear what Chifuyu-sensei is saying."

"Now Romanov, your superior contacted me not long ago and gave me the codes for your training weapons for your class. But I've decided that Kraven will also be co-teaching your class do to his affiliation with the Kraven International Arms Company." Orimura-sensei continued.

"Say vhat?" Isaac responded in shock, "You want za American doing Russian level training? Pardon my insubordination ma'am, but B.E.A.R tactics are only for za elite members of za Russian Special Forces. Taking into za account zat I had to significantly downgrade all training exercises so normal people could do them, I will be having my hands full with zat alone. I do not have za time or za effort to be holding zis American's hand za entire time, and vhat qualifications does he have for a teacher in an advanced military class? Is he even in an active military?"

"Kraven has military level training, and has shown himself as a skilled marksman in training exercises in various levels of difficulty." Orimura-sensei responded.

"But-." Isaac started before Orimura-sensei cut him off with a look.

"He is in your class Romanov, is that understood?"

Isaac sighed, "Da, it is."

* * *

**B.E.A.R Advanced Military Tactics Class, 6pm Day 1, Classroom 173.**

* * *

Isaac stood comfortably in his place at the front of the class with Seolis standing nearby as the entire class watched them intently, waiting for any movement or words.

Isaac turned to Seolis, "Just let me handle this, I can teach this by myself."

Seolis shrugged, "I'll say what's on my mind, and If you don't like that tough."

Isaac faced the class and touched the screen behind him, and the symbol of B.E.A.R flared to life.

"Comrades, welcome to za B.E.A.R Advanced Military Tactics Class. This is a year long class that will hopefully help you in za IS training by making your body stronger and improve your shooting skills. Now zat you are in this class, you cannot leave until you pass it, there is NO QUITTING." Isaac said with emphasis. "Za purpose of this class is to make into a better pilot, not a soldier or a mercenary. I don't expect any of you to be military personnel in za near future, but if you want to be zat is completely up to you."

"But be making no mistake." Isaac warned. "You will sweat, you will get dirty, and you will get sore. And if you decide you can't do something, I will personally drill you into za ground, got zat?"

"Yes sensei!" came the response from the whole class.

"Well lets jump right into it, shall we?" Isaac said. "The first day class is just to teach the basics of what you can expect in za class, it will be the only time you are doing nothing in here, so enjoy it." Isaac tapped the screen and a list of tasks appeared on the screen.

"Okay comrades, Mondays are physical fitness and training days as well as hand to hand combat drills and groundfighting. Tuesdays are improvised weaponry and survival, we use any materials we can to make traps and such. Wednesdays, underwater combat drills, I will have you use SCUBA gear and spearguns as your gear, underwater demolition is also on this day. Thursdays we do engineering and field maintenance of IS and small arms, we also fire guns, both normal and energy on this day. Fridays are za fun ones, heavy demolition drills, we use real explosives and blow up stuff, I can also teach how to disarm bombs. And for za weekend I have special things planned, we see how you react to a real life wartime scenario using a non-lethal method, paintball." Isaac said with a nod. "Now zat I'm done, the next portion of za class is questions, so if anyone has zem please ask."

"I have one Sargent." A female voice with a slight mechanical sound to it said, and Isaac's bracelet pulsed once before a young female with long light brown hair and a simple white sundress materialized by Isaac's side. She was small, about 5'4 and her eyes shifted from green to yellow shades rapidly, making looking her in the eyes kinda uncomfortable.

Isaac smiled at the hologram, "Ah N. I see you are finished downloading, I trust you have lots of room to move around in now?"

N stretched her arms over her head, "Its so cramped back in the Terminal with all the other AI, I'm happy to have a place of my own."

"Da, Niko has already told you your primary task. So if you could get started on that, I'll be free to help in a few hours."

N's eyes switched to bright green, and she frowned as lines of binary ran over her form. "Sargent you really have no organizational skills whatsoever do you? I have my work cut out for me here, so help me soon okay?"

"Understood, you are dismissed N." Isaac said, and N dissipated back into the bracelet.

"What the hell was that?" Seolis asked.

Isaac shrugged, "Zat was Nataline, or N for short. She is a Swedish made AI unit that I have been working with for a little over two years, and she serves as my personnel assistant for Red Czar. What, your country didn't give you one?" Isaac said with a smile, "How...expected."

"I don't need one, I can manage Flare Streak all on my own."

"Well whoopdee fucking doo for you comrade, but I prefer to have a AI crosscheck my work just in za case I made an error."

"With the base systems of an IS of any nationality, it can be calculated relatively easily."

"Za base systems in Red Czar are more complex then normal 3rd Gen IS, it has much more systems active at once."

"Yeah, if all the auxiliary systems are online at once."

"A pilot should only worry about za bitch shooting at him, in a life and death situation only your survival matters."

"I agree, but pilots need to know all about the machine they are using in order to maximize it's capabilities in combat, but Russian IS were pretty simple to begin with."

"Da, Russia has been in za IS industry longer then most countries, and has personally made four models of IS in the 2nd Generation that have become extremely popular in zat time. While I belive America has only made two models zat weren't even liked. And I guarantee zat za 3rd Gen will be just za same."

"The most popular model of 2nd Gen Russia was the Model SA-45 or the "Sniper Wolf" and it saw widespread use in the northern parts of the world, but was useless in warmer temperatures, same with the Blazing Taiga or War Dog models."

"All za issues with temperature could be solved by simply changing out za winterized inner plating for a lighter and thinner model. But za Seraph IS could be used in any weather or temp right out of za box."

The entire class sighed loudly, "They are just gonna argue the whole time huh?"

Aieko checked her watch, only 45 minutes to go. But what's the rush? She kinda liked watching Isaac be all smart.

Ichika sat uncomfortably in his seat, was Chifuyu serious about these two teaching a class together? They looked ready to rip each other apart at any minute, Ichika wouldn't trust them to clean a bathroom together, much less a class with weapons. Maybe Chifuyu just wanted a death-match between them...

Ichika looked back at the arguing two from oceans apart, they were still going at it strong.

Maybe this was all just a bad idea.

* * *

**Holy crap y'all, that was a long one! But I wonder how Isaac and Seolis will get along, or if they will at all! Guess we'll find out next time.**


	4. First Contact

**Vir comrades! I deliver unto you a much needed action packed chapter for your viewing pleasure, as well as a good bit of humor and general Russian-ness! Hopefully we get to see some interesting things in this one, so let's jump straight into it!**

* * *

**Japanese airspace, 7:45 AM.**

* * *

"Another!" Nikolai Belinska shouted at the flight attendant as he added yet another shot glass to the impressive stack of alcoholic beverage containers to the seat next to him. The tall Russian man had his digital camo battle dress uniform on and had his camouflage cap covering his hair, his cheeks were stained with red with telltale drunkenness and he avoided looking out the airplane's window.

A pretty, young Japanese flight attendant came over to Nikolai and stood next to his seat. "Sir, we think you have had enough."

"Vat makes you say zat?" Niko remarked, and he accidentally knocked over some beer bottles, spilling them into the cabin. "Ah derʹmo, is okay. I get zem."

"No sir, just please stay seated. We will have someone collect them later. But please, no more drinks okay?"

Niko made a weird face, "Vell, zats za first time someone has said zat to me. But for a pretty devushka like yourself I vill stop." Niko glanced up at the attendant's face and smiled. "Ah, your eyes remind me of a frozen lake I once went to as a boy to ice-fish, so clear und pure..."

"Captain Belinska, I don't think your wife would like you talking to zat girl like zat." The gruff voice of General Morozov said from his place in the seat in front of Niko. The older man was thumbing through his phone and didn't even bother to look up when he spoke. He was also similarly dressed in digital camo dress but his uniform bore a black beret.

Niko stared, mouth agape at the withered General, and then slowly turned to the flight attendant with a sheepish smile.

"Pervert." She mumbled and turned away from Niko. Niko watched her leave and sighed.

"Major cockblock there sir, if you don't mind me saying." Niko mused, "Und I don't even have wife."

Morozov halfway looked over his shoulder, his blue eyes that still remained bright thought his years locked on Niko. "I dont think I could care less if I tried. Do not forget why we are here Nikolai, we operate outside of za Motherland's jurisdiction on zis mission. So behave yourself on za school grounds."

Niko spread his arms wide and grinned, "Now ven have I ever misbehaved myself?"

Morozov scoffed at his old friend and went back to the work on his phone.

Niko peaked over his seat at Morozov, "You still haven't told me why I have to fly all za way to freaking Japan und vaste my vacation time for none of za reason."

"My mission is to solidify za agreement between Russia and za ISA, und to gather current data on our reps. You will be checking up on Isaac und getting information from him about za fighting strength of his students thus far, ponyal?"

Niko nodded, "Rodzher. I have vanted to see how he is doing, und if he has harem yet." He said with a rough laugh. "Oh, zat kid is my freaking hero."

Morozov rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Let us hope zat boy has sense enough to stay out of zat situation. Ve cannot be affording any of za distractions for Romanov, ve have already put considerable time und effort into him."

"Ah I'm sure he is za fine, General. He probably doesn't even understand it if he is."

Morozov gave one of his rare smiles. He looked out his window and saw the growing land mass of Japan close now, with the ISA visible in the distance. Morozov clenched his armrest, he hoped he wasn't too late...

* * *

**ISA Main building, 8:10 AM.**

* * *

"Got called out of my home, and dropped right into za combat zone. AK rifle in my hand, mortars ripping up za land. Check your gear und cock zat gun, lets go have some fucking fun. Suka cry und shake with fear, simply cause I draw near. IS show up to lend za hand, we won in a vay zat was oh so grand! Flames scorch cowards und zhey run like hares, let zem never forget us BEARs!" Isaac sang in his rough tone as he hefted a medium sized box up a flight of stairs on one of his shoulders. The box made a creaking sound at each step, and Isaac shifted it's weight.

"Svyatoye derʹmo, if this stuff blows up on me I will be so pissed off." The Russian said to himself.

Isaac reached the top of the stairs he was climbing and rounded the corner to begin on the next one, and collided into a girl with short blonde hair. Isaac kept a tight hold of his box and held his footing, the girl didn't and fell to the floor.

"Ah, izvinite. I didn't see you there comrade." Isaac said, reaching a hand out to help the girl up.

The girl looked up and anger flashed in her green eyes.

"Whats your problem you stupid jerk!?" she shouted at Isaac harshly.

Isaac blinked, "Vhat?"

"Why don't you watch where you're freaking going instead of hauling around a box for no reason, what the hell is in that anyway?" She said as she got up and brushed off her uniform's skirt.

"Umm...Semtex." Isaac said in a sort of daze.

The girl stopped and looked Isaac in the eyes, "What, like the explosive?"

Isaac just stared back dumbly.

The girl grit her teeth, "Hey, are you listening!?"

Isaac shifted the box again, "What is your name?"

"What the hell does that matter?"

"I understand zat is polite to introduce one another in zis country, so dobroye utro. I'm Isaac Romanov of Russia." Isaac said in greeting.

The girl looked away with a huff, "Erin Falls, I'm from New Zealand."

"Priyatno vstretitʹsya s vami, but if you will be excusing me I need to unload this shit before it blows me up. Bye." Isaac said as politely as he could, as he turned to go up the stairs.

"Hold it!" Erin ordered, and Isaac complied. "I can't just let you go after what you did, we need to have a duel! Today in the Arena during lunch, two on two."

"Da, zat is za great. Bye." Isaac said, not really listening and hurrying up the stairs.

Erin watched Isaac leave, and heard him mutter something like "Next time I take za elevators, zis shit scares me." That Russian intrigued her greatly, and she found herself anticipating their battle. It didn't really matter who he showed up with, Rosario and her were unbeatable in battle.

Erin resumed walking down the stairs, and smiled with excitement.

* * *

**Classroom, 8:30 AM**

* * *

Isaac was happy as hell to get rid of that Semtex and still have his arms attached when he came into the classroom.

"Utro comrades." Isaac said. And instead of his usual greetings, he only received wary looks.

Isaac laughed nervously, "They stare at me like I have za cancer or some shit. Did I do something?" He thought.

"You really have some nerve to do what you did Isaac-kun." Aieko mused from behind Isaac, scaring the shit out of the Russian, "Very manly."

"Chert vozʹmi! Don't sneak up on me Aieko." Isaac said to his roommate.

"Aww, that's not something you say to your battle buddy Isaac!" Aieko pouted. "You can't win your duel without me."

Isaac narrowed his eyes, "My duel? Chto vy govorite?"

Seolis stood up from his chair, "Come on man, the whole school is buzzing about you pissing off Ms. Falls and her challenging you to a fight. Nice job by the way."

"Falls?" Isaac said before he remembered. "Oh, zat little girl who apparently doesn't like za Semtex I vas carrying around this morning." Isaac glared at Seolis, "And nice job of not showing up for za work you lazy tupitsa American."

Seolis just shrugged, "I'd be more worried about your battle then that."

Isaac considered that for a moment, "Da, I guess so. But next time you don't show up I put rabid wolverine in your room."

"Fair enough."

Isaac tapped his bracelet, "N, come out for a bit."

N manifested beside Isaac and smiled, "Good morning Sargent Romanov, how was your explosives run?"

"I almost kissed za world do svidaniya because some debil packed za detonation charges in za same box as za actual explosives, thanks for asking. But could you pull any data on a Erin Falls from New Zealand for me pozhaluysta?" Isaac asked.

"Of course Sargent." N flicked her fingers and a small holo-screen appeared in front of her with several hundred lines of binary flowing across it that melded into Russian characters and numbers, as well as a avatar of the polished sliver New Zealand IS.

"O-kay, lets see vat zis suka is packing. Name of IS is Cresting Wave, is a mid-range IS specializing in speed. All Bus slots are open, no customization whatsoever. Thrusters are located at za wings and elbows, kinda weird but okay. Und...no weapon data." Isaac closed the screen. "How unhelpful."

N looked down, "I'm sorry Sargent, there is no more data available on Miss Falls or Cresting Wave."

"Don't worry about zat, thanks for your help N." Isaac said nicely, and N dissipated back into the bracelet.

"So have you figured out who is gonna be your partner in the battle yet Isaac?" Seolis asked with mild interest.

Aieko latched onto Isaac's arm and held it tightly, "Obviously his adored roommate." She smiled in her sly but cute way. "And his lover."

Isaac looked at her weirdly, "Izvinite menya? I never agreed to that. I understand that Erin and her partner both have personal IS, so my partner must have one also to balance it out. Ne v obidu, but a Uchigane won't help in za battle at all it will just in za way."

Aieko giggled and got closer to Isaac, "So mean Isaac-kun~." She dipped a hand into her uniform and came back out with a necklace with a dark purple star on it.

"I have one, you know." She said flirtatiously.

"Geez, you always have something up your sleeve huh?" Isaac said after a while of silence.

"Yep!" Aieko said, "You're looking at the pilot of the Shizune clan's custom IS, the Fox Shadow!"

Seolis snapped to attention, "The Shizune clan?"

"Vat? You know zem Seolis?" Isaac asked.

Seolis nodded, "The Shizune clan are the founders and current owners of the Shinobi Edge Custom IS Weapons Company, one of the most prominent and wealthy custom IS arms manufactures in the far east." The American's eyes darkened, "They are known for making impressive and unique Feudal Era IS weapons, mainly swords and the like. But I had no idea they made their own IS."

"Fox Shadow is the pride and joy of my clan." Aieko said happily, "And I do want to test it out in a real battle, so..." She looked at Isaac pleadingly.

"Pretty pretty PRETTY please Isaac-kun?" She asked with her eyes shimmering.

"Ohhhh, she pulled a triple pretty please Ize." The all too familiar voice of a certain womanizing man said mockingly. "chto vy budete delatʹ teperʹ?"

Isaac glanced back and saw his asshole friend Niko in the doorway smiling broadly with a Glock 21 .45 cal pistol holstered in his belt, and the three black discs on his cap signaling his rank as a Captain.

A lot of the girls looked over the older Russian man with varying degrees of general teenage crushery, many talked among themselves quietly.

"He's kinda hot, is he Isaac's friend?"

"He's a little young to be a Captain isn't he? He must be strong."

Aieko prodded Isaac, "Isn't he that guy from the phone that one time?"

"Da don't remind him." Isaac sighed and began walking towards his mentor and best friend. "You took your sweet time getting here Niko, hope you didn't forget to lay off za free drinks zis time."

Niko also began walking to his younger friend, "Vat do you think Ize? Free drinks means get your share before zat beautiful window closes. Und be a bit more grateful vy by? I did fly all za way out here just for you after za all."

"How'd zat go by za way?" Isaac asked when they were closer.

Niko shrugged, "Good I guess, za General is still back there with your instructor ironing out za kinks in our contract, so he should be free in a bit." He smiled slyly, "So is zis lovely young lady gonna be your battle partner for your fight zis evening?"

"How'd you know about zat already?" Isaac wondered out loud.

"It is kinda all over the school already man, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone knew already." Seolis answered coolly.

Niko stared at Seolis for a moment before leaning in close to Isaac, "Hey Ize, who's zat girl wearing za male uniform? She looks za familiar..."

"Is not a girl Niko, even though he looks like it. Zat is Seolis Kraven from Kraven International Arms, America's contender and my teaching assistant."

Niko blinked, and laughed heartily, "For real comrade, Alexander's little brother? Oh chelovek, is been long time. Last time I see you, we have good times at za church da?"

"What does zat mean?" Isaac asked, turning to Seolis.

Seolis's face colored brightly, "Nothing! Um, you were picking a partner right Isaac?"

"Yeah, yeah I vas getting to zat." Isaac said grumpily, "I guess I have to go with you Aieko, you look eager to fight."

Aieko smiled brightly and latched onto Isaac in a unwavering hug, "Thank you Isaac-kun, its a date!"

Niko wiped away a fake tear, "My little soldier is becoming a man today."

"Shut up Niko!" Isaac yelled.

Niko raised his hands, "Da, da, I got it. But you should know that za General is very interested in you little battle."

Isaac calmed down, "What do you mean?"

"Think about it Ize, its za battle christening of Red Czar. Morozov want it to be a big event, complete with recordings and data extractions. Hell he even got Chifuyu to agree about making it a school event on za scale of a class rep battle."

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Da." Niko turned and exited the classroom, "I got money on you to win so no fuckups okay?"

"What the fuck ever comrade! BEARs don't lose!" Isaac called after him.

Niko grinned to himself, Isaac was always a hardheaded warrior when it came to IS. But he's never fought inside one for long, the longest being three minutes. But even then, he had faith in Isaac.

He was a BEAR after all.

* * *

**IS Arena, entry bay 1. 5:00 PM**

* * *

Aieko sprang up by Isaac in her tight fitting purple IS suit and gave him a happy smile, "Ready Isaac-kun?"

Isaac looked down at his black and red IS suit, "Da, za mission starts now."

"Hai!" Aieko held her star necklace in one hand, "Come, Fox Shadow!"

A flash of white light radiated from her, and she was clad in a slim dark purple IS equipped with light armor around the shoulders, legs, arms, and back, with two Japanese style swords on the back and no armor on the torso or head.

"Lock und load, Red Czar!" Isaac said, and Red Czar came to him with it's AK in his hands. Isaac and Aieko both launched themselves out into the arena battleground were their opponents were already waiting, Erin in her slick silver colored IS held a FN P90 in it's left hand, the New Zealand flag proudly displayed on her shoulder armor. Her partner had a green colored IS that matched her long and unusually colored green hair, her skin was dark, signaling a Hispanic background. She held out her hands and pieces of her armor came together to make a beam rifle.

Isaac signed, "Vell thats new."

"Welcome everyone, to today's challenge match." Yamada said over the intercom. "This match will consist of a two on two battle featuring Erin Falls of New Zealand and Rosario Hernandez of Mexico on Team 1."

Erin and Rosario both raised their weapons and got cheers from the crowd.

"Versus Isaac Romanov of Russia and Aieko Shizune of Japan on Team 2."

Isaac cocked his rifle bolt back and flicked the firing selector onto full-auto, Aieko drew her swords lighting fast and assumed a defensive pose.

"Now, both parties are ready. The match begins in three seconds! Three!

"Witch one do you want Isaac-kun?" Aieko asked politely.

"Two!"

"I take Hernandez, keep Falls off me until I can beat my target. Then we defeat her together." Isaac said quickly.

"One!"

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Aieko responded.

"Match begin!"

Erin raised her rifle at Aieko, but Isaac fired off some quick cover fire so his teammate could close the distance a little, then he flew Red Czar towards Rosario with his rifle blazing.

Rosario saw him coming and nailed him in the shoulder with her beam rifle, she caught a few rounds in the chest herself before Isaac was in close proximity. Rosario's rifle rearranged itself into a sword and she sliced at Isaac's torso, the Russian took the blow and dispelled his rifle in favor of a Glock 21 pistol and a Trench Bowie knife with a spiked brass knuckle grip.

"So you're Isaac huh? The rep from Russia?" Rosario asked, and deflected a few pistol rounds.

"Da, sorry we couldn't meet under za better circumstances Ms. Hernandez." Isaac said, his knife caught Rosario's blade and Isaac blasted her in the forearm and shoulder with four quick rounds.

"What better way is there to meet?" Rosario said loudly, scoring a hit on Isaac's left arm with her sword and causing the Russian to take a step back.

Rosario saw her chance and aimed another swing at Isaac's chest. The Russian's arm whipped out with great speed and grabbed Rosario's arm by the wrist, Isaac pulled her arm towards him and hooked his left leg behind her right leg. Isaac rammed his body forward and swooped Rosario off her feet, he then shoved the arm he held away and delivered a brutal punch to Rosario's head in mid-air with his brass knuckle knife. The blow hit the poor girl like a ton of bricks, and caused a mini-crater to form when she hit the ground.

"Guess you're right, zis is best way to meet!" Isaac said cheerfully.

"Hey Soviet!" A rude female voice yelled, and when Isaac looked he saw a huge cinder block sized warhammer wielded by Erin swinging towards his head. Isaac had no time to escape, and was sent flying sixty feet by the heavy impact of Erin's weapon. The combined efforts of Rosario and Erin brought his shields down from 600 to 430, taking out half of his energy. Obviously that warhammer of Erin's was a heavy hitting weapon.

Aieko flew to Isaac's side with her swords still in hand, "Sorry Isaac-kun, she avoided me better then I expected."

Isaac quickly got up and summoned his rifle back, he took the clip out and threw it away. He summoned another out of extradimentional space and reloaded his gun. "Is just as good I suppose, two are better then za one."

Erin hefted her warhammer and grinned, "How'd you like that Russian?"

Isaac laughed, "Is zat all zat piece of derʹmo has? I've been hit harder by za wind!"

Aieko sheathed her swords and summoned a hilt-less tanto style knife in her left hand and four five pointed shuriken in her right. "Isaac-kun, my shields are down to 150, what are yours?"

"300, zat hammer is fucking annoying." Isaac pumped the grenade launcher under his rifle and flicked the safety off. "But zis will wake zem up, distract zem for a minute rodzer?"

Aieko held up her shuriken, "I got something perfect for distractions right here Isaac-kun."

Aieko threw all four shuriken at once at a high speed, and they all impaled themselves in the ground at Erin and Rosario's feet.

"Ha! Nice throw!" Erin mocked.

Aieko smiled and raised two fingers to her forehead in a hand sign, the centers of the shuriken began to blink rapidly with red lights. "Why thank you."

The shuriken exploded and showered the two girls with force, shrapnel, and an impromptu dust cloud smokescreen.

"The Shinobi Edge's Flash of Light shuriken are not to be taken lightly." Aieko said ominously.

"All set, stand fast!" Isaac yelled, and fired his grenade towards the cloud. 40mm IS Caliber round screamed towards it's target.

A beam rifle shot came out of the cloud and intercepted the grenade round as it flew and caused the round to explode. Erin rushed out of the cloud with blinding speed and drew her warhammer back as she came closer to Aieko.

Aieko summoned more shuriken and threw them at her oncoming attacker.

"Piss off small fry!" Erin cursed, and avoided the explosive weapons. She swung her warhammer and smashed into Aieko's side, demolishing her shielding down to a mere 60 and sending her flying. She didn't even stop, and kept trekking onward to Isaac.

Isaac cursed out loud and dispelled his rifle. He waited until Erin was closer and summoned a weapon that made Erin's step falter. A solid black RPG-7V2 now was mounted on Isaac's shoulder with a huge PG-7VR Dual 64mm/105mm HEAT IS Caliber warhead pointed right at the New Zealand girl.

Isaac saw Erin's hesitation and smiled slightly before he pulled the trigger. "Bang."

There was no chance of escape this time, and Erin took the blast head on with her shielding. Bu that didn't stop her smashing Isaac with her hammer and throwing him in the same direction Aieko was.

"Vell this is sucking." Isaac said to himself. He gave up his RPG for his rifle again and scanned for Aieko.

"Isaac-kun!" Aieko yelled in a voice filled with panic.

Isaac whipped his head in the direction and saw Aieko holding her IS's leg, that was currently shooting sparks and twitching. Her leg joint had been busted by Erin's blow earlier, and any more damage might physically harm her. Isaac also saw Erin rushing towards Aieko with a strange green glow around her hammer. Whatever it was, it was bad.

"Shit!" Isaac shouted, and he boosted his way over to help. He hoped he could get there in time.

* * *

**Aieko Shizune's POV**

I saw Erin coming towards me with that evil hammer drawn back and consumed by a green glow. I tried to force my leg to move, but it was no good. My shielding was too far down to help with a blow like that, and Isaac-kun was too far away to help me now. I closed my eyes and waited for the blow.

I did hear metal meet metal and a loud snap, but I felt nothing. Curious, I opened up my eyes and gasped when I saw Isaac-kun with his left arm up defensively and that hateful hammer resting against his arm. I also saw blood dripping down his IS's arm from where the hammer hit him and busted through his shield and armor.

"Fracture found in the left arm, administering biofoam." I heard N say, and saw a spray of white foam erupt from the hole in his armor and harden to keep him from bleeding any further.

"What cowardly attack." Isaac mumbled.

Erin stared at Isaac and scanned him over, "What do you mean?"

Isaac looked up and he had rage in his eyes, "Attacking an already downed opponent is a tactic for gutless cowards with no respect for war." Isaac smiled, "Now I'm pissed off."

Isaac summoned another gun, a SPAS-12 shotgun, unloaded a buckshot round into Erin. Propelling her back to Rosario's side.

Isaac used his shotgun to help himself up and pumped another shell into the firing chamber. "90 shield energy left huh? Gonna be a close one."

"Isaac-kun..." I said.

Isaac glanced back at her and smiled, "Don't worry Aieko, I got zis."

Just then, Red Czar's chest armor began blinking, and a robotic voice spoke out of it. _Access, shield energy dangerously low. ERROR! Software tampering detected! *Bzzt!* New commands accepted, ENRAGE program active. Voice authorization required.  
_

"ENRAGE?" Isaac asked.

_Voice authorization confirmed, prepping Form Shift._

Red Czar's armor locked up slightly and made movement difficult, but Isaac could still move his arms sluggishly, "N! What za hell is going on!?"

N's panicked voice came on Isaac's HUD, "I don't know Sargent! Too much malicious software coming all at once to stop, there's no way it could be-" N was cut off in a wave of static.

_A.I program off-line, Form Shift will now commence._

"Wait, hold on!" Isaac shouted.

That was all he got to say before the armor on his chest detached and wrapped itself around his head. Isaac raised his hands and scraped against the armor to try to pry it off somehow but I saw the spinal protector on the back of his IS stick a long needle into the base of his neck and inject a bright green fluid into his body. Isaac instantly became limp, but still stood upright as the spinal protector hissed once and detached itself from his neck but still remained on his lower back. A sharp spearpoint flicked out of the top, and the whole protector trailed behind him like a tail, twitching and writhing. His IS's feet morphed into wicked talons, and the armor that was his chest now formed a scary looking helmet with three black horizontal lines.

_Form Shift complete, start-up protocol finished. Initializing combat mode...complete. Engage._

The lines on Isaac's helmet blazed to life in an eerie red light, and a harsh metallic screech sounded from his mouth. He jetted towards Erin and summoned two swords with handles like his knife as he did so. Erin swung her hammer again, but Isaac ducked low and slashed her in the belly with his swords. Then he did a spinning roundhouse kick to her head that knocked her down, his tail jabbed Erin in the stomach with it's point.

Isaac slashed through Rosario's beam shot without even looking, and he threw one of his swords at her as a distraction.

_Access 30sec Mark achieved, weapon schematic received. Rhino pistol unlocked._

Isaac let his swords fall, and summoned two heavy pistols that resembled Desert Eagles. He shot Rosario in the leg and shoulder at the same time, and came close to her in no time at all. His tail wrapped around Rosario's neck and lifted her off the ground.

"What..is..this?" Rosario said in pain.

Isaac said nothing, but instead raised both pistols to her head and shot her again and again and again.

"Knock it off dammit!" Erin yelled as she peppered Isaac with her P90. In response, Isaac moved Rosario in front of him to block Erin's fire.

_Enemy shielding depleted, next target._ The voice said, and Isaac tossed Rosario off to the side roughly.

"What? You think a little change and some new pistols can take me!?" Erin shouted.

_Access, 1min Mark achieved, weapon schematic received. Hellsing rifle unlocked. _

Isaac's pistols vanished, and a strange minigun-rifle combination came into his hands. He cocked the bolt back and the barrels started rotating as a hail of gunfire came from his weapon._  
_

"Shit." Erin cursed as she tried to dodge the bullets with little success. Isaac rammed into her savagely and smashed the rifle butt on her chest. She fell back, and Isaac summoned one of his sword and one pistol and he stood over Erin and fired a shot into her shoulder.

Erin grunted, "I only have 10 energy left, stop toying with me and end it!"

Isaac tilted his head to the side and lifted his sword up, ready to stab Erin's heart. Then his red lines went black again.

_*Bzzt!* Energy depleted, shut down immanent. *Bzzt!* _

Isaac fell back wards stiffly, and his IS went back into standby form. It was clear even from here that he wasn't moving and that his eyes weren't open._  
_

Exactly what just happened to him?

* * *

**There ya have it, you much needed action fix. But what exactly is ENRAGE? Guess you have to find out next time, dont'cha just hate cliffhangers? And don't forget to review and lemme know what you think of this so far, for the Motherland.  
**


	5. The Day Of Change

**Last chappy wasn't half bad hmm? But I feel that the time is right for a filler/flashback portion of the chapter to better explain Isaac as well as ENRAGE. So get ready for a slightly deeper look at Isaac's beginnings as the second Russian representative pilot.  
**

**Oh, and drop me a review so I can get a feel of how I'm doin so far. It helps my writing MUCH more then you'd think. Thanks for reading.**

* * *

**IS Arena, VIP viewing area.**

* * *

General Morozov watched the live feed of the battle between Romanov and the other girls intensely. His eyes followed every movement, noted every twitch, and every shot fired. He saw Isaac smile when he punched the Mexican girl to the ground.

Chifuyu stood beside Maya and the General with her eyes crossed, and watching the match just as intensely as the General.

"Romanov is doing well for his supposed third time piloting an IS." Chifuyu commented, looking temporarily at Morozov.

Morozov shrugged and dug a cigar and a Zippo lighter out of his front pocket, " It is true that zis is Sargent Romanov's third battle in za IS, but he has been training to fight IS for over three years now." He finally lit his cigar and puffed on it a bit before letting it smoke by itself, not actually inhaling it.

Maya glanced over at Morozov uneasily, "Um sir, could you not-"

Morozov looked directly at Maya, and his blue eyes pierced her very soul. "Problem skuchatʹ?"

Maya's mouth opened and closed like a fish, and she turned back to her screen with wide, scared eyes.

"Three years? Its quite impressive that he is still alive after all that." Chifuyu said blandly.

Niko looked down at the coffee in his cup and swirled it sadly, clearly wishing it was something stronger. "Da, some BEARs don't survive za first few days of real IS combat, seeing as how zey go up against IS with only a few Exodus suits, but Ize has gone through eight full scale firefights and dozens of short skirmishes with only six broken ribs, a fractured shin, three bullet wounds, and a few major cuts und scrapes. All in all, zat is pretty damn light." Niko sipped his coffee and made a sour face before he put the cup down.

Maya looked back, "Exodus suits? They made a model that worked in tundra?"

Niko smiled, "Da, seeing how it is za closest thing males can get to IS it is essential on za battleground. They made it heavy as all hell though."

Morozov saw Isaac load up his grenade launcher and the Japanese girl throw some star-like weapons he recognized as shuriken at the Mexican and New Zealand girls, he nodded when they detonated and threw up a cloud.

"Za Sargent choose a suitable partner, didn't he Captain?" Morozov asked. "She balances out their styles."

"Da, Ize has good taste in women after za all!" Niko exclaimed, earning a shake of the head from both Morozov and Chifuyu.

Morozov grunted when Isaac's grenade was intercepted by the Mexican's laser round and the New Zealand girl charged out the dust cloud.

"Za Sargent's foes are quite crafty though, they have most likely fought together before." Morozov said. The older man inhaled another puff of smoke.

"Its true that both Falls and Hernandez have teamed up before, but they seem much more aggressive in this battle." Chifuyu said.

"I'll say, zat Falls girl is just plain reckless." Niko said with a shake of his head. "Charging head on into a firestorm is just asinine."

Niko made the mistake of taking another sip of his coffee, and swallowed it with a pained look on his face. He set the cup down and never touched it again.

Morozov watched as Aieko was smashed by Erin's hammer and sent flying with her leg unit busted. "Zat weapon she uses is interesting, it functions much like an Impact Cannon but minus za projectile. Gathering space into za hammer and having it explode outward upon impact."

Niko grinned when Isaac summoned his RPGV2, "Big boom in tri...dva ...odin." And Erin erupted in a huge explosion.

Niko's grin faded when Erin charged out and slammed Isaac with her hammer, "Suka is tough to survive PG-7VR Dual 64mm/105mm HEAT IS Caliber warhead at such close range."

"They have been separated, zat is not good." Morozov said. "She will go for the Romanov's partner first, she senses her weakness."

Just like Morozov had predicted, Erin rushed on Aieko with her hammer bathed in a green glow. But everyone in the room was surprised when Isaac intercepted the blow on his arm and crushed the armor on the IS left arm, a red warning sign flashed on Maya's terminal saying that Isaac had fractured his arm with that block, but that went away when N dispensed biofoam to help.

Morozov nodded, "Now zat is interesting."

"Ignition Boost." Chifuyu stated. "Impressive that he can do that so early."

Isaac blew Erin back with a blast from his SPAS-12 and stood up with some difficulty. The Russian was smiling widely as he pumped another shell into the firing chamber.

"Ohhh, she pissed him off." Niko commented.

"Deystvitelʹno, she disobeyed za rules of engagement trying to kill a wounded soldier." Morozov commented.

Morozov saw Red Czar seize up and Isaac grow sluggish, "Wait, something is wrong."

Isaac was apparently trying to speak to N but his speech was cut off by his chest armor detaching and wrapping around his head, he struggled in vain to get it off but he went limp suddenly.

Morozov let his cigar fall to the ground, it rolled across the tile and died out. "It can't be, that was scrapped before Red Czar was even complete..."

Red Czar's feet units morphed into talons and they flexed powerfully, the hands twitched.

"Derʹmo! Get zem out of there now!" Niko shouted in panic.

"What is the meaning of this General!? What's happening?" Chifuyu demanded.

Isacc slowly raised his head, and three horizontal red lines flared to life on his helmet. A harsh screech sounded from him, and he charged with two trench swords in hand that he summoned from extradimentional space.

Morozov and Niko stared at the screen in shock, "It's too late, it's already complete."

"What is it?" Chifuyu shouted.

Morozov glanced at her with seriousness in his blue gaze that spoke of violence and pain.

"It is ENRAGE."

* * *

**ISA Nurse's Office, 15 minutes after end of match.**

* * *

Isaac laid in one of the beds with bandages wrapped around his chest, head and left arm. Aieko, Niko, Morozov, Chifuyu, Seolis and Ichika and his gang sat at a table near him.

The nurse returned and set a meal for Isaac down on his bedside table. "He is going to be okay, while he was fighting his fracture deepened and became just a step below a full-on broken bone but we gave him some medicine for that. If he's lucky it will heal in three months."

Niko glanced at Morozov, and Morozov nodded back. Niko dug in his pocket and drew out a vial of orange fluid. "Give him this, it gets za job done in four days. Russia, no, we need him in za field. Be careful though, it's expensive."

The nurse blinked and carefully took the vial and drew some out into a syringe and went over to Isaac. She injected his broken arm with the fluid and set his arm in the right position for it to heal up.

"Now General, perhaps we could take this time to speak about the events on the field." Chifuyu half asked, leaning in closer. "Specifically that strange First Shift."

Morozov chuckled, "That wasn't a First Shift Orimura, it was something else entirely. Something much more dangerous. It's best if you just forget what you saw."

"Pardon me sir." Seolis said, "But if this is dangerous then we can't just ignore it, we need to speak about it."

Niko turned to Morozov in question, "Decision, sir?"

Morozov remained silent for a moment, "What za Captain says doesn't leave this room, if anyone asks you about it you lie or avoid za question, tell them anything but za truth."

Each one of the members present gave a "Yes sir." And turned to Niko, who drew a stainless steel flask from his jacket and took a sip.

"What I'm about to say is classified information, so listen up."

* * *

**Unknown location, Unknown time.**

* * *

Isaac woke with a start, and groaned when he felt his arm throbbing. He groped for his bedroom light switch, but felt only empty, hot air. Isaac took a breath and his eyes snapped open when he recognized the scent of the air, the familiar metallic scent that he knew so well from his years of war.

The scent of blood.

Isaac bolted into a standing position and looked around him to get his bearings. He was surprisingly standing atop a cold stone floor inside what looked like a medieval type of throne room complete with a large throne made of black stone in the far back, extraordinarily long wooden tables that reached the entire length of the room as well as blood red banners and tapestries hanging from the ceiling and walls, there was a large open window in this room opposite the throne that displayed the surface of a stagnant ocean of crimson blood with no land in sight, the sky was pitch black and yielded no stars but light somehow existed here, because Isaac could see all around him. He looked down at his reflection in a small mirror on one of the long tables and saw himself in his BEAR uniform, forest camo trousers and jacket with a black shirt underneath as well as a camo cap. Even more startling was the fact that the scar under his eye was covered by a band-aid and when he ripped it off he saw that his scar was bright pink, like it was fresh and new.

_Plink._

Isaac caught the noise and turned his body around fully to face the black throne, and what he saw confused him.

There was a young man of about 15 years sitting casually on the throne, he was clad in a black tunic and old-time trousers, and had a normal looking steel sword by his side. But Isaac was more concerned about his face.

He was a dead ringer for Isaac. Save for his many facial scars he had on his sickly pale face and bright yellow eyes.

The boy smiled strangely, almost like a predator. "I've been waiting for you, so nice of you to come."

"What is zis place, who are you?" Isaac demanded.

The boy shrugged, "The were of this place is difficult to explain simply, just know that you are inside your IS now."

"Wait what? I'm in Red Czar right now?" Isaac asked quickly.

"Now that I think about it, this is that Swedish girl's home. I'm just occupying this plane here for...hmm." The boy looked up as if thinking. "Two hours. That seems right."

"Swedish chick?" Isaac repeated, and he clenched his fists. "You mean N, what did you do to her!? I swear to za gods if you hurt her-"

The boy raised his hands over his head, "At ease friend, the Swed is just off-line for now, so I took over for her until she wakes up again...if she wakes up again that is." The boy looked down at his body and sort of grimaced, "She did have a weird taste in physical form, too small and cute for my likes. Your body was a much better form, much better suited for what I do, so I hope you don't mind if I changed her form in favor of yours."

Isaac blinked, "So you are N?"

The reflection shrugged, "In a way you could say that, but no I'm not your cute little AI for the time being."

"If you're not N then who are you?"

The boy did his strange smile again, "That is a question with many possible answers, Isaac. But I have the feeling that you only want the right answer, so why don't I let the good General explain it to you?"

The young version of Isaac waved his hand and binary flowed out of the many cuts on his arms, the numbers formed a screen and the static slowly faded out to reveal the nurse's station. Isaac saw all his friends and even his teacher sitting down around a table in front of him, Morozov was speaking to everyone in a muffled tone that Isaac couldn't understand.

"The reception in here is awful, damn WiFi." The reflection cursed and whacked the screen with his hand. The sound came on and Niko began talking after he took a sip out of his emergency vodka.

"And before you ask, I'm not using your eyes too see this." The boy said plainly, "I can't use those just yet. I'm just using the viewscreen on your IS caller for this little bit."

"What I'm about to say is classified information, so listen up." Niko commanded, "If you do have questions, don't hesitate to voice zem, ponimat?"

"Get on with it Captain." Morozov said impatiently.

"You see comrades, what happened out there was not a First Shift of any kind. Zat transformation was za result of a experimental research team back in Russia over six years ago. Za members of zis team were scientists, soldiers, and even a few politicians dedicated to unlocking za secrets of IS. Not soon after the first few 3rd Gen IS came out, they began developing a program that would effectively force a Second Shift in 3rd Gen IS for a short time utilizing and advanced intelligence program."

"Thats impossible, Second Shifts cannot be forced by any means." Chifuyu protested.

Seolis nodded, "Sensei is right, I'm afraid that what your saying is quite improbable." Seolis scratched his head, "But how interesting that would be..."

Morozov slammed his fist on the table, rattling it. "Let us get something straight now, boy. What we had created was a disaster, a weapon zat thought for itself and claimed no master. Never try what we did, it only ends in pain."

Niko nodded at Morozov, "Orimura is right in zat way, a Second Shift never occurred in any of za tests. But something else happened to za IS tested, za program grew self-aware and began rapidly assimilating the IS's system into it's own in an effort to gain a physical shell, it also invaded the pilot's subconscious to act as it's avatar. Luckily, za members of za team managed to contain za program before any real damage occurred to pilot or IS, and put the program in a sort of "freeze" so it couldn't get stronger. Za scientists were intrigued at the savagery of this new program and tried to find some way to control it."

Aieko looked back at Isaac's sleeping body, "What was this program really? Whatever it did to Isaac, it made him feral and savage. I've never seen something so aggressive before, it looked ready to kill."

Morozov glanced over at Isaac as well and frowned slightly, "Za offial name for zis new program was Emergency Neural ovRride Adaptive aGgression Emulator, or ENRAGE for short."

"Und it's not accurate to say zat it made Isaac fight that way," Niko said. "He was unconscious throughout za entire transformation. ENRAGE just assumed control of Red Czar and piloted itself."

Seolis's eyes got wide, "ENRAGE can fly itself? How can a simple corrupted program do something so complex?"

"In za tests ENRAGE never assumed direct control like it did with Isaac, za General and I fear that it may have assimilated into N and used her to control Red Czar, it is problem because ENRAGE is an adaptive program and will get stronger each time." Niko said with a serious look. "Is hard to believe zat ENRAGE is even in existence, I was under za impression zat it was destroyed nearly one year after it was created."

"Hold on," Ichika said. "If this ENRAGE thing is so powerful, then why did Isaac collapse out in the field?"

Niko took another swig, "As I said before, Little Orimura, za original purpose of ENRAGE was to force a Second Shift for a short time. Doing zis requires a huge amount of power output, an amount nearly impossible to produce without either a nuclear reactor or za direct power source of an IS Core. And a flying nuke isn't really a good idea, and if we had access to the Core a program that forces Second Shifts would be unnecessary. So we use za next best thing."

Ichika stared at Niko, "Little Orimura?" He whispered to himself.

"Shield power." Chifuyu stated, "ENRAGE runs off the IS's shield power."

"Correct." Morozov said, "Za maximum time-frame ENRAGE can function is about three minutes, assuming it has za energy to."

Morozov glared at the table, "Something happened after we killed him, someone brought him back I know it."

Chifuyu stood up, "Killed who, General?"

Morozov sighed loudly, "Shortly after ENRAGE was first tested, za program briefly infiltrated a nearby terminal and delivered a message to us. A riddle...and a name it made for itself."

"What was the message, sir?" Aieko asked quickly.

Isaac looked at the reflection and saw that it was grinning even wider then ever as Morozov spoke the message it had delivered so many years ago.

"I come silently, and take up residence in your head. When I am ready, I unleash my burning madness upon you. I cast your brain into flames and delusions, all za while making your body weaker and weaker. Soon I have you breathing your last breaths of life, before I take your brittle life from you. And after you die, my sickness spreads to your loved ones and I kill them in za same way. Care to guess my name?" Morozov stopped as he collected himself.

"Well?" Chifuyu asked. "What was it?"

Morozov looked her dead in the eyes and held his gaze.

"It calls itself Fever."

"Oh I do love such flashy introductions!" Fever announced. He waved the screen away and turned to Isaac. "Now...what to do with you..." Fever cracked his fingers loudly. "My current masters said not to hurt you, but I'm just so curious about you. I'm sure they won't mind." Fever raised himself off the throne and gestured to the middle of on of the long tables, were Isaac saw a wine bottle and two glasses

The whole thing was fishy as hell, but Isaac found himself at the table in no time while Fever poured him a glass. The strange program watched Isaac drink his glass in one go with it's eerie yellow eyes.

"Now," Fever began as he topped off his own glass. "Where to begin? Ah, the beginning I suppose."

"Excuse me? What?" Isaac said.

Fever swilled his wine, "I said I was curious about you didn't I? So I just want to invade your memory for a small bit to learn more about you, my host."

Isaac smashed his wineglass on the table and grabbed a sharp piece of glass. He held it up to Fever's throat and pressed it into him. "I have no idea what's going on here. But you are staying out of my mind."

Fever ignored the glass in his way and put two fingers on Isaac's forehead with lightning speed. Isaac's mind went groggy, and his senses dulled.

"Fool." Fever mused, "It's OUR memory now." Fever frowned slightly as his eyes glowed yellow, almost like searchlights.

"How odd, I can't see very far back." Fever shrugged, "I suppose I can spoil myself with the middle instead, doesn't matter to me now.

Isaac didn't get a chance to answer as he felt himself being drawn into Fever's eyes, and slipped away into sweet sleep.

* * *

**B.E.A.R Outpost Serial number 1337 "The Bleak", Kazakhstan/Russia borderline. Five weeks ago...  
**

* * *

"Everyone get down now!" someone shouted over the roar of battle that drowned the scarred landscape. A loud thump sounded in the distance, and was followed by a high pitched whistling.

Isaac and the majority of the BEAR infantry hit the dirt wall they had erected in anticipation of the battle and covered up their heads as the mortar round landed. Those who didn't duck were shredded to bloody scraps in the resulting shrapnel explosion that left a huge hole in the ground.

"Need a radio here!" one of the Corporals yelled, and another Corporal stood up and tossed him one. The one who threw it caught a bullet to the neck, and fell back with red spraying out his wound. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Isaac checked the remaining ammo on his AKM, and was relived to see twenty rounds left. Isaac felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Nikolai smiling at him widely.

"No day like battle day, eh Ize!?" He yelled, then laughed. A bullet sank into the ground near Niko, and the Russian responded with a shot from his Dragunov rifle. In the distance, Isaac heard someone scream in pain.

"Ha! Nailed ya suka!" Niko said. He rolled on his back and loaded another clip into his sniper rifle. "Corporal Imen! Weres za IS suport!?"

The Corporal with the radio held his hand over the mouthpiece. "Coming in three minutes sir! Targeting mortars and snipers on zat bunker!" He went back to speaking feverishly into the radio, belting out coordinates.

"Good! Ready MG nests and set up Javelins and mortars for za time being!" Niko ordered, and BEAR soldiers scrambled to gather the heavy PKMs and mortars that were scattered around.

Isaac looked to his left and saw a PKM already locked and loaded up, so he set up the bipod and aimed it at the assaulting bunker. "Ready to go, firing for effect!" Isaac shouted, and flicked the safety off. The heavy hits of the PKM against his shoulder was a small price to pay compared to the massive destruction the 7.62mm rounds caused to the Kazakhstanian foot soldiers that dared to get in it's way. Isaac cut down seven men as they tried to get close to the wall, many of them had their torsos shot to hell by multiple machine guns before they died. Isaac fired until he heard the rapid click of an empty gun, then he saw the group of foes running full sprint towards his position.

"Der'mo, reloading cover me!" Isaac said to his fellow gunners as he went to work undoing the box mag under the weapon.

"Rodzer, I have your ba-"

_BOOOM!_

The gunner who was speaking was scattered in every witch way by the mortar that landed right on his position, killing him and three others instantly. Isaac covered his eyes from the shower of blood-soaked dirt that fell on him, and when he opened them he saw saw gaping hole in the wall.

Niko's curse was lost in the noise, but his voice rang clear afterwards. "Get zat spot covered up now! Gunners over there!"

Isaac lugged his PKM over to the hole and let one of the other BEARs take control of it. The young Russian fell in behind Niko and grabbed his AKM.

"Hows battle day look now, Captain?" Isaac asked over the explosions.

"Don't be smartass Ize!" Niko yelled back, earning a much-needed laugh from his young friend.

Just then, two jet-black IS screamed into the battleground, the symbol of BEAR displayed proudly on their shoulder units and laser rifle blazing in their hands. The Kazakhstanian soldiers screamed and fell back in a rush, Niko popped up and sniped two right in the back as they ran and dozens more were mowed down by PKM fire.

As Niko got back in cover, his earpiece beeped and he touched the Talk button on it.

"Captain Belinska here, vat took you so long?"

One of the IS pilots responded, "Sargent First Class Ishvalin reporting in! A slight tech problem, but we are good to go now sir!"

"Nevermind zat, all units open fire on zat bunker, IS give support! Tear it to scraps zen we go drinking!" Niko ordered.

"Rodzer!"

"Moving out!"

The BEARs advanced on the bunker, running in-between bits of cover to avoid machine gun and sniper fire and dealing with any foes that dared show their faces, while the two IS took to the skies and went to work on the mortars and hammering the bunker's walls. Isaac took a lead in the foot forces, and found a stray mortar team. He decided not to risk getting blasted by his own IS, so he lobbed a grenade at the team's feet and kept running, and three seconds later he heard the satisfying boom that underlined his kills.

Isaac hoofed it inside the bunker and gripped his AKM tightly, he touched his earpiece gently to Talk. "Romanov inside enemy compound, beginning Semtex placement." he dug into his pack and drew out two Semtex packets and stuck them carefully on two hastily constructed support beams, priming the explosives as he did so. He got three more packs out before his earpiece crackled, and he heard the sound of something screaming in the air then loud thumps.

"Der'mo! Three enemy IS just landed! Personnel fall back!" Someone sqwaked over the radio.

Isaac ran over to one of the windows that the machine guns used and looked out, sure enough three silver IS had showed up and were ripping BEAR apart and giving the Russian IS a hard time, beating the crap outta them with old 2nd Gen guns. Isaac unslung his pack, he had seven packs of Semtex, including the ones he had in hand and the ones he had placed. The two on the beams would weaken the structure, but he threw the three he was holding in random directions to seal the deal. He could think of a use for the other two, but he needed to get out first those IS were tearing things up out there.

The young soldier saw a Javelin launcher sitting on a table, so he grabbed it and a extra rocket labeled "Ammo Type Pulse Slug" before he left the safety of the bunker and stepped out into the heat of battle. Firstly, those IS had to be weakened, so Isaac raised the Javelin up and took a moment to lock on target before he fired and sent the rocket tracing across the sky straight into it's target.

"Who za fuck fired zat rocket!?" Niko shouted over the radio.

"I think it vas Romanov, shit is he still in za bunker!?"

The IS that got hit turned in Isaac's direction and spotted the Russian teen still loading the Pulse Slug round in the Javelin, it raise it's rifle and locked on.

Isaac grit his teeth and finished loading. Just as he was locking on, one of the BEAR IS swooped down and snatched him out of the line of fire, the pilot grunted in pain as the enemy IS scored a hit on her IS and pierced her side. The two landed roughly behind the bunker and the pilot tried her best to move her IS, but she oozed blood at every move.

"Dammit." Isaac cursed as he wriggled out of the IS's grip and scooted over to the cockpit. He tapped his wrist unit and a holographic keypad came up.

"N! Get zis open please!" Isaac pleaded.

"Yes sir, working...and done!" N replied.

Isaac eased the pilot out and carried her a short distance away. He gave her his pistol and set to work on hastily wrapping up her wound, after a complete botched attempt at being a medic, Isaac turned his attention to the IS. Standard protocol said that if an IS goes down and the risk of capture is high, then the IS must be EMPed to fry all records and the Core must be taken if possible, so N readied the fry code and Isaac went for the Core.

In the back of his mind, Isaac noted that this was the first time he had ever touched a fully assembled IS before. The though both excited and depressed him because of the circumstances under witch he had his first touch of an IS. Funny how this machine changed so much, all of a sudden soldiers weren't need in the demand they usually were, instead replaced by these "Wonder Weapons" from Japan. So many soldiers were simply appalled by the release of IS and the military power it brought to women, who usually just supported the military but never fought for it. It only took ten years to undo the rules and standards of thousands of years of warfare and for the world to become, how the Americans said it, totally fucked the hell up.

But realizing he had no time to think about that, Isaac brushed the surface of the IS to open up the mainframe just like he was taught. But the IS just glowed and the shield dropped.

"Za hell?" Isaac protested, swiping the spot again.

_Access__, new pilot information found and approved. Please enter the cockpit now and assume the standing position._

Isaac couldn't understand what he just heard, so N popped up next to him in full form. "What does it mean by all zat N?"

N shook her head, "I can't believe it, it RESPONDED to your touch. It sees you as a pilot. But thats-"

Isaac looked back at the wounded pilot, then in the direction of the approaching enemy IS. He peeled his combat jacket off and took off his pack. "N, you know how to make zis work?"

"Of course, but what does that have to...oh no Sargent, surely you can't be serious." N said quickly.

Isaac settled into the cockpit and felt the IS tighten up to fit his body, "I don't have much choice here, if I don't then lots of people die. If zis helps then I'll do it."

N went quiet for a moment, "Weapons are summoned by envisioning them in your mind. Currently we have an AK-47 rifle and a Ka-Bar knife."

Isaac stood up and wobbled a good deal before righting himself. The enemy IS came into view and the pilot got a shocked face when she saw the young man in the IS. Isaac used that to summon his rifle and cocked the bolt back.

"Come get some yebarʹ!" Isaac yelled, and charged the stunned IS.

* * *

**A.I Subspace of Red Czar  
**

* * *

"Thats enough for now." Fever commented, and drew his fingers back from Isaac's forehead. Even in his current state, Isaac could see Fever's hand smoking.

"What was zat? I was back in za fight for just a second..." Isaac wondered.

Fever got up from his chair and looked at Isaac. "Think about it all you wish for now, but I must make you forget your time here for my own safety. I can't go back to being dead."

"Whoa whoa, I have score to settle with you now comrade. Noone fucks around in my head." Isaac said, also getting up.

Fever shrugged. "I'm afraid that will have to wait for another time, you and I must part ways for now. Perhaps we may meet again soon."

Just as Isaac was about to say something, Fever's eyes flashed and Isaac was gone, forced back into his own mind. Fever picked up his glass and walked calmly over to the window to stare out into the vast crimson sea. He smiled.

"Synchronization at 3%, it's proceeding very well." He said to himself. "Maybe I could delve a bit deeper into my host next time and indulge myself a bit. But oh well..." Fever sipped his wine.

"All in due time I suppose."

* * *

**Isaac's Room, 7:00 PM.**

* * *

Typically, when you wake up in the comfort of your own bed, you don't expect to have splitting pain in your now bandaged arm, your worst frenemy raiding your mini-fridge for your private stash of root beer, the two chicks who smashed you with a hammer and shot you with a crazy laser gun, or your hot Japanese roommate in bed with you holding your good arm to her soft, but notably firm breasts.

Well unless you are Hugh Hefner, Nikolai Belinska after a sake party in China, or Isaac Romanov. This may not happen to you all at once, so sorry. Going from order of most important to least important, Isaac proceeded to address his new-found problems in a beautifully executed manner.

"Get za fuck outta my fridge you lazy ass American! What do you think you're doing placing my arm there, Aieko? Why does my arm hurt like bitch? How za heck did you two get past za security traps!?" Isaac said rapidly.

Seolis got a can of A&W out of the fridge, "The sleeping giant finally wakes, how do you feel Isaac?"

"I feel shitty as manure pile, but zat is normal. Mostly I feel confused as to why I'm not ripping your capitalist head off and hanging it up on wall for all za world to see because you stole my soda, I know I present myself as a vodka man but technically I am under za age, so I have those to throw people off." Isaac responded.

Aieko giggled and gripped tighter, "Isaac isn't this grumpy when he wakes up, something bothering you?"

Isaac blinked slowly at his roommate, "What happened? We were fighting, and Ms. Falls hit my arm...what happened after zat?"

Erin narrowed her eyes "Don't talk like we aren't here, you AK slinging Soviet."

Seolis raised a finger, "He's a Democrat, not a Communist."

Erin crossed her arms, "Who cares!?"

Seolis drank from his can. "Apparently you."

Erin made a face, "Americans really are annoying."

Rosario patted Erin on the shoulder, "He's not that bad Erin, I think he is, you know... fun to be around."

"Thank you Rosa, I enjoy spending quality time with you as well." Seolis responded.

Rosario went beet red and played with her uniform.

"Aww," Aieko mused, pulling Isaac up into a sitting position. "Erin-san is just mad that you beat her up after you saved me. Witch by the way was totally brave and manly." Aieko put her face close to Isaac's, "Purposely risking your own well-being so I would be alright, deserves a reward don'cha think?"

"Oh blegh!" Erin commented, "You can't be serious, being indebted to that Russian. What if he makes you do weird things?"

"I'm pretty sure I just got demonized just now, how za American hippies said, zat seriously harshed my mellow." Isaac said.

"What I decide to do with Isaac is my business." Aieko retorted curtly.

Erin scoffed, "I won't let you two perverts disrupt the peace."

Isaac looked crestfallen, "Pervert? Izvinite menya? Don't compare me to Nikolai so easily." Isaac checked his bandaged arm, "What are you even doing in my room anyway?"

Erin blushed a bit, "W-well, Rosario convinced me to apologize about hurting you in our match, so...I'm sorry I guess."

Isaac grinned, "You are kidding right? Zat was one of za most fun fights I've had in a long time! Hopefully we can have another match sometime soon."

Erin blushed deeper and turned her head away from Isaac, "You're weird, you want to fight again after what happened?"

"Yep, next time I go all out." Isaac promised.

"More importantly," Seolis began. "Your class starts in ten minutes, maybe you should get ready to go. Unless you will cancel due to your injury."

"As if I let you off zat easy! Hope everyone is ready to sweat in PT today!"

Isaac leaped off his bed and half-dragged Seolis out of the room, all the while talking about how push-ups and running with rucksacks were "Good for za soul."

Aieko smiled slyly at Erin, "He's so energetic, good to know right?"

If Erin blushed before, she was seven times redder now. "Whats that supposed to mean!?"

"Nothing~."

* * *

**And there we go! Another chap down. The next chapters will be action ones, so be sure to look out for them okay? Review please!**


	6. Project Siberia Begins

**Hello hello readers! You are in for a treat this time around, action and bullets galore!**

**Lemme get some stuff outta the way first. It has been a month since Isaac arrived in Chapter 1, and this chapter takes place three days after the ENRAGE incident.  
**

** I don't know how you guys liked the ENRAGE concept, mainly cuz no one reviews so I'm just kinda skating by assuming that it's alright.  
Thats all for now, so lets get started.**

* * *

**Unknown Subspace Location, 4:00 AM  
**

* * *

The sun set over the sea of blood and cast bright rays of orange over the ruined landscape of Fever's Supspace home, and Fever himself tapped his scarred fingers rhythmically on one of the wooden tables he was seated at. The program materialized a glass of wine for himself and leaned back with his feet resting on top of the table.

How troublesome it was to have to wait on someone hand and foot like a slave, there were so many things to be doing and taking over were he was now and having orders wasn't helping move things along any. Fever smiled in an oh-so-slight way, despite him being totally helpless at the hand of his current masters, he did know for sure that his masters absolutely needed him in order for their little plans to have even a ghost of a chance at success. He saw something move very quickly out the corner of his eye, and chuckled.

"You're late Ms. Kutcher, how unfortunate." Fever mused, taking a sip of his wine. The program faced his visitor, a holographic screen displaying the face of a woman of about 22 years with amber eyes and brown hair, and smiled evilly. Fever had invaded her personnel file when he first met her a few months ago and found himself dealing with Lilith Kutcher from Estonia, a former mercenary turned terrorist. Apparently she has quite a record in western Europe for being ruthlessly efficient in her jobs, as well as having high IS aptitude. Quite the riveting read if he did say so himself, very grisly stuff, for a human at least.

"I am a very busy man after all, and my time is oh-so precious." Fever finished.

"I don't remember giving you permission to address me that way, program. Especially when I hold your very existence in my hands." The woman known as Kutcher retorted in a superior tone that demanded respect. She lifted a small silver cylinder with a blue button on the top into view.

His Killcode, the thing that could end him in a moments notice at any time for any reason. Quite a nasty little thing, it's supposed to dis-construct a program's binary code and effectively wipe all traces of it off both private and public systems for good.

Fever shrugged dismissively, he knew full well what that cylinder was and what it does. But he wouldn't let a mere human gain any leverage on him so easily. "For now you do. And as much as it disdains me to say so, because of the situation, and that little device you have there, I'm inclined to humor you in your plan."

Kutcher relaxed a fraction, "Glad we came to an understanding, now report your progress."

Fever grinned, "This boy is QUITE the interesting one. Normally I can see and know everything in a database in just a few hours, but this one is much more...difficult then I originally expected."

Kutcher scowled at the scarred program through her screen, "Are you saying you can't follow through with you mission?"

"Not at all." Fever remarked rather smartly, he sipped his digital wine again. "I said difficult, not impossible. I already have 5% sync, and I know will accomplish my task in time, so there is no need to concern yourself."

Kutcher glared harshly, "It is always my concern what you do, no matter how small. We still don't trust you, and we need the leverage to be sure our demands are met."

Fever drained the last bit of his wine, and his eyes flashed yellow. "With respect ma'am, this conversation is no longer private. Maybe you could ask the young lady hiding behind your desk to come out and have a chat."

Kutcher looked behind her and was shocked to see a young girl with black hair split up into parts, and brown eyes that stared hard at Fever. She wore a normal looking black track suit over her attractive figure, and her essence radiated power.

"M, what are you doing here?" Kutcher demanded, crossing her arms.

M briefly looked at her, then went right back to staring at Fever, "So, you must be it then, the program that has everyone on edge. You don't look like much to me."

Fever's smile turned into a smirk, "Frankly my dear, neither do you. But I do see my reputation precedes me, indeed I am that program. My name is Fever, charmed I'm sure."

"I heard my superiors say you are inside a student in the ISA." M stated rather bluntly.

"Is that so, quite an inquisitive child aren't you? I suppose you could say I am, in a way at least." Fever mused, swilling what remained of his wine around in it's glass and staring the human girl in the eyes.

M blinked and smiled slightly, almost exactly the same mysteriously unpredictable way Fever himself does. In fact, the program began to feel ever-so slightly uneasy around this human girl, though he couldn't fathom why.

"I have business to settle there, and a few people to crush. I would enjoy it if you gave me personal info on my targets." M said in a business-like voice that left no room for debate.

Fever chuckled a little," Listen up woman...no, listen up GIRL. Your lightweight terrorist cell may hold my leash for the moment, but I answer to no master. My abilities are my own and no one else's. So...maybe you should ask a bit more humbly, human." Fever said the last word with disgust, like it was the worst thing he could think of.

Quick as the eye could register, M burst forward and snatched the Killcode out of Kutcher's hands and positioned her thumb over the trigger button. The teenage girl had an oddly sadistic gleam in her eye that seemed irregular on such a young girl, but somehow seemed totally normal for her.

"Don't toy with me insect," M hissed "The only reason you aren't acting as the system's new pop-up blocker is because I convinced Squall and Autumn that you could be useful in getting inside the ISA and feeding us information."

"Ahhh," Fever mused, finishing off his wine and crushing the glass in his hand, causing more blood to seep from in between his fingers and fall to the floor. "So you do need me. Well then, you can humor me at least when I make my demands."

"You are in no position to bargain with us." Kutcher injected.

Fever's eyes flashed three times, and he grinned sickly. "I think I'm in the perfect position now, go ahead and push that button if you want. I warn that it'll keep you from more then a few juicy bits about our dear old friends at the Academy though."

M's thumb tensed on the trigger, then relaxed. "You win for now, what do you want?"

Fever conjured another glass of wine and reclined in his chair.

"I'm so glad you asked..."

* * *

**Tokyo, Japan. Just outside the ISA. 11:00 AM**

* * *

Isaac was sure he couldn't feel more uncomfortable with the current situation, but then again he didn't want to push it anymore then it was already. To his right was his flirty roommate Aieko Shizune who was currently latched onto his arm tightly, and to his left was Erin Falls, his sort-of friend who was giving him a death stare on a level he had never seen before. Also in their group was Nikolai, who organized the whole trip, Seolis, Rosario, and Tatenashi.

Nikolai grinned at Isaac's current predicament wolfishly, "Not a bad catch you have there Ize."

"Shut za hell up already." Isaac retorted.

Erin narrowed her eyes, "We didn't come here to watch you two act like a couple, have some humility."

Aieko locked eyes with Erin, "Aww, are you jealous? Thats so cute!"

"I AM NOT!" Erin yelled, but recovered her composure when everyone looked at her. "I just think PDA isn't in good taste with high school students, especially ISA students. We represent the top of the food chain after all, and furthermore we-."

"Ahh~ Isaac smells good~." Aieko said in a dreamlike voice as she squeezed Isaac's arm tighter.

Isaac's eye twitched slightly as Aieko's bust pressed harder into his body, "S-soft." He mumbled under his breath.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, knock it off!" Erin shouted, pointing at the offending teenagers.

"You're only saying those things because you've yet to try them out yourself, Erin-chan." Aieko suddenly grinned slyly and let Isaac's arm go, grabbing Erin's outstretched hand instead.

"Eh?" Erin said as Aieko grinned even wider.

"Lemme help you get a taste then..." Aieko mused, and yanked her captive towards Isaac, basically Judo throwing her straight into Isaac. The two collided with each other and Isaac was knocked over onto the ground, hard, with Erin's face only a few inches from his own.

"Ouch, dammit. Landed on my freaking wallet again." Isaac griped before he noticed how close Erin was to him. She opened her eyes and flushed when she saw her current situation.

Oh shit here we go, Isaac thought.

"Y-you..." Erin began in a surprisingly soft tone that sounded very un-Erin. Isaac didn't like it, he learned when women get quiet they have a tendency to sometimes explode like a freaking ballistic missile back when he was working with the IS pilots in BEAR.

"Keep in mind, was not my doing." Isaac said hastily, attempting to forestall the inevitable.

Erin flushed even further and tried to look away, but only got closer because of it.

"You do smell good." Erin whispered in a hushed tone that only Isaac and herself could hear in their current state.

Now it was Isaac's turn to be surprised, "Say vat?"

Erin moved slightly, and almost immediately yelped in surprise when something hard touched her thigh. She stood still for a moment, surprised, then her formerly cute, flushed features hardened into a grim-set expression.

"Erin-chan, Isaac-san!" Rosario said in a worried tone as she and Seolis hurried over to them. With his super-sensitive mood detection skills, Seolis sensed the enormous killing intent that was now seeping from Erin, and motioned for Rosario to stay were she was.

"You're going to want to back up a bit and put these in." Seolis said simply, passing out earplugs and securing a pair for himself.

"Ohh, whats gonna happen?" Tatenashi wondered, putting in her earplugs.

"YOU PERVERT!" Erin yelled in pure rage. She started the movement to summon her IS and pummel poor Isaac into oblivion.

"Oh, that." Tatenashi said.

_Click...*Flash*_

Erin blinked at the sudden flash, "What was that?"

"Ohh, zats a keeper. Alright zen, next give me little something extra for za fans on za website." Nikolai commented as he readied the camera on his phone for another picture.

"You took a freaking picture of that!?" Erin roared in anger. She got off of Isaac and stood up, leaving her would-be victim to get himself up.

Nikolai gave her a look that said _Who, me?_ and began scrolling through his phone, "Do you honestly think I would do something so dirty and za underhanded, Ms. Falls?"

Erin glowered at Nikolai, "Seeing as how you spent the whole trip over here talking about 'Za perfect breast to ass ratio', I'd say yes."

Tatenashi smiled cutely, "That is kinda creepy, Belinska-san."

Nikolai smiled oddly, "There is nothing creepy about a man with passion for za perfection, devochki! Nothing at all, right Ize?"

Isaac had already gotten up and was brushing some dust off his clothes, "In your case it is, you're a 25 year old man with za obsession for za girls ten years younger zen you."

Nikolai shrugged, "I'm just tryin to help my good, lovably hopeless subordinate out with all za woman troubles he seems to have. And who knows? Maybe I help you score as vell..."

"O-kay." Seolis said, stepping into the conversation. "This is turning really weird, really fast. So can we all just come to an agreement and collectively drop it?"

Erin was still staring daggers at Isaac as they all agreed to Seolis's terms. "You should be ashamed of yourself, doing something like that, pervert."

Isaac just looked more confused, "Vat are you talking about? Something like vat?"

Erin turned beet red and started figiting with her uniform, she couldn't seem to speak, so she just motioned to Isaac's midsection with her hand. "That." She finally said.

Realization dawned on Isaac's face, "Oh, you mean zis." He said, lifting up his blazer.

"W-w-what are you doing!? We are in public you animal!" Erin said loudly with her face growing ever the more red.

Isaac reached to his waistline and his hand came back out with a sweet piece, and by that I mean a black Glock 21 with a OD green slide and chambered in .45 ACP.

"Is just my concealed carry weapon, I don't think I vill ever need to use it here but is good thing to have anyway." Isaac explained, and put the gun back into the holster on his waistband.

"Ah, is best to keep zat secret Ize. Guns in Japan, especially in za civilian areas are very much za illegal." Nikolai said, motioning for Isaac to put his gun away.

"Captain Belinska," Seolis started. "If you don't mind me asking, why were we taken off campus to go to the city?"

Nikolai took a cigarette out of his jacket pocket and lit it with a Zippo lighter adorned with the Russian flag. "I heard there was great hostess club somewhere around here, and I felt like trying one out for za first time and thought you would all like to come along for za ride."

"Are you serious!?" Erin shouted, "I will not miss class time for your perverted field trips!"

Nikolai grinned, "Relax devochka. Of course we came for good reason."

The Russian adult took a drag on his cigarette and faced his two Russian Reps. "Sergent Romanov and Ms. Sarashiki, we have meeting with a agent today, an agent from za homeland, one Milo Gorbachev from za KGB IS Command Regulation I believe."

Tatenashi sighed, "They only show up on the Prime Minister's order."

"Da, and is usually bad reason when government types like zem show." Isaac mused, "Wonder what he wants?"

Nikolai shrugged, "Who knows with these government types? But he made it clear zat he would be meeting with you two and you two only, so looks like I have free time."

"Um, what about us?" Seolis asked, motioning to every non-Russian present.

Nikolai gave a devilish smile to the teenagers, "Guess you vill accompany me to za hostess club comrades. Belive it or not, getting off-campus passes for Ize and Tatenashi alone was huge pain in za ass, so you are all owing me big time ponyal?"

Nikolai wouldn't hear any complaints, and herded the remaining teenagers off like sheep to his little pervy destination.

Isaac understood the slyness of government types firsthand, so he was a bit wary. "So where is this guy exactly?"

"No idea, walk around until you find him or vise za versa." Nikolai said casually over his shoulder.

"Helpful, spasibo Captian." Isaac remarked with disdain.

N materialized near Isaac and ended up scaring everyone with her sudden appearance. "Sorry! I know you aren't used to that yet everyone, sorry again."

"What's up N?" Isaac asked, facing his Swedish AI.

"The General is calling me, so I thought I should tell you before I divided this time." N said.

Seolis raised an eyebrow, "Divided?"

Isaac nodded, "Thank you N, do your best to help the old man."

N smiled, and began glowing harshly. "Yes Sergent, I'll be whole again in a while."

N's glow reached a supernova level, then suddenly went out, leaving spots dancing in everyone's eyes.

"What..was that?" Erin said, rubbing her eyes. Her eyes got wider when she saw N again.

There were two twin 8 year old girls were N had been standing, they had the same hair, clothes and changing eye color that N did. The only difference between them was an Alpha symbol on the right hand of one, while the other had a Beta symbol.

Both N's smiled, "Division complete. N Alpha will go to the General, and N Beta will remain with the Sergent."

"Very well, get going zen." Isaac said.

N Alpha dissipated, and N Beta returned to the IS caller.

Isaac turned and grinned to his friends, "Pretty cool huh?"

"How did she just do that?" Seolis asked, he was impressed but he wouldn't let his Russian rival know that.

"N can split herself into a maximum of four little N's, each with a quarter of her processing power. It's an ability only za very highest end IS helper AI can do to multitask and micromanage za IS, though it's quite useful for smaller things." Isaac explained.

Nikolai sighed loudly, "Get going Ize, I want to see some pretty women already!"

Tatenashi grinned and grabbed Isaac's hand, pulling him along. "C'mon Ize, no need to keep Mr. Gorbachev waiting!"

"Da," Isaac agreed as he pulled out of Tatenashi's grip and walked on his own. "But were do we begin looking?"

"Dunno, but what's the rush?" Tatenashi said, grinning. "Lets have some fun while we look, after all it's like we're on a date..."

Isaac's eyes scanned the crowds for any sign that could help, but saw nothing. "We are on a mission, it's imperative zat we find Mr. Gorbachev as soon as we can."

"You're no fun Ize! C'mon loosen up for a while!" Tateanashi pouted in way Isaac had seen before in the past, next came the big puppy eyes...

Tatenashi gave those very eyes in an instant, and Isaac sighed.

"Fine zen, but we keep an eye out za whole time." Isaac compromised.

"Yay!" Tatenashi shouted like a little kid, catching the attention of a few people in the near vicinity and netting a few weird looks. "C'mon, I think there's an arcade around here somewhere."

Isaac blinked, "An arcade?"

"Yeah, you ever been to one before?" Tatenashi asked.

"Nyet, were I grew up, half of za time we didn't have electricity. So we couldn't run an arcade. But Niko told me a little about zem, it's like a hand-eye coordination training facility for civilians right?"

Tatenashi blinked in surprise, "I guess you can look at it that way, let's go!" She grabbed Isaac's arm again and half-dragged him around the corner to get to the arcade.

Little did they know they were being followed.

* * *

**Jasmine Dragon Hostess Club.**

* * *

A very pretty woman wearing cat ears and a tail carefully set a tray with a few cups of steaming green tea in front of Nikolai, and gave him a smile. "Here you go Nikolai-kun, enjoy."

"Thank you my dear, you look stunning as always." Nikolai commented, earning a giggle from the woman.

"First time huh?" Seolis said with sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Nikolai shrugged and spiced up his tea with a splash from his flask, "Enjoying yourselves I hope?"

"Ohh, Rosa-chan. I can get you an outfit like that one if you want, it would really make your legs look good for that special someone." Aieko said, pointing to the catgirl waitress and nudging Rosario playfully.

Rosario took a glance at the waitress's outfit turned fiery red in an instant."T-t-there's no way I could wear that!"

Aieko looked let down, "Okay, how bout that one?" She asked, pointing out a nurse cosplay with a dangerously low neckline.

Even more heat radiated off her face, "N-no!"

"Cut it out Aieko." Erin said, sipping her tea respectfully.

Aieko smiled, "She's so cute when she's embarrassed, I just can't help myself!"

"I think you would look good." Seolis said with a very serious look on his face.

That single statement sent Rosario's head spinning, and the Mexican girl passed out and fell face-first into the table.

Seolis blinked, "I was just kidding..."

Nikolai chuckled, "Good to see zat you are having good time."

Seolis leaned back in his seat, "I'm still finding it hard to believe you just decided to take us on a surprise field trip on a whim."

Nikolai took a drink of his spiked tea, "You should know your brother had a hand in zis, he said you could use some sun and social interaction for a change. He even picked zis exact restaurant for me to use, imagine zat."

"I knew it, that snake in the grass. What's he up to?"

"Probably trying to get you some comrade. After all, you haven't had luck with za ladies ever since zat one time in Russia..." Nikolai commented, looking into his tea innocently.

"What happened in Russia?" Rosa asked.

"Nothing." Seolis said quickly while the Russian man laughed.

"Actually, now zat I think about it, your brother and za General wanted you all to take a short break today. Weird huh?" Nikolai said.

Erin looked up from her tea, "Very weird indeed, are you really telling us the whole story Mr. Belinska?"

The remaining spiked tea disappeared down Niko's throat in a huge swig, "I told you everything I know about zis topic, I assure you. As far as I can be telling, za General wanted you all to relax a bit for some reason I'm not allowed to know."

"Well that was nice of him." Aieko said, watching a few of the waitresses pass by and getting weird little smiles each time.

"Da, it was." Nikolai agreed, he flagged down another waitress and ordered another tea.

Erin looked out of the window and sighed, "I wonder what Isaac is up to right now?"

Seolis raised an eyebrow, "Why do you care? I thought you hated him."

"I just want to make sure he isn't doing anything stupid and slandering the ISA's name!" Erin retorted rather quickly, her outburst couldn't hide the slight blush on her face though.

Seolis raised his hands defensively, "Okay then. But whatever he is doing, I'm sure he's fine."

"Yeah," Rosario mumbled, picking herself up off the table. "Isaac can handle himself."

Aieko grinned, "Rosa how bout that one?" She pointed to a woman with a schoolgirl uniform with a ridiculously short skirt. "You're practically there already!"

_Thump. _Rosario resumed her passed out state while Aieko giggled quietly.

"Oh c'mon, not again Aieko!" Erin shouted.

"Sorry, couldn't resist~"

* * *

**Takamari Arcade**

* * *

Bright red colored the screen as Isaac killed his final terrorist, and the words "Endgame, 1st place!" appeared in flashing yellow letters.

Isaac grinned and entered his name in the 1st place holder spot and replacing the little plastic assault rifle the game used, "What a simple game, was just to easy even on Hardcore."

"Okay Ize, you have 1st place on every shooting game in the arcade now. Did ya have fun?" Tatenashi asked as she played with one of the crane games. The claw fell and grabbed onto a stuffed cat, lifting it a few inches before it slipped out and fell back into the pile.

"Aww man, not again." Tatenashi griped, drawing another token from her pocket.

Isaac watched with a little interest, "What is zis game about?"

"You use the claw to try and get one of the stuffed animals out, then you get to keep it." Tatenashi quickly explained, feeding in her token and moving the claw yet again into position over the cat.

Quickly, Isaac pushed the claw's drop button while Tatenashi wasn't looking. And the metal claw winded downwards towards it's target.

"Hey! That was my last token too!" Tatenashi complained, but stopped when the claw grabbed onto the kitty tightly and emptied it into the collection bin.

Tatenashi looked back at Isaac, "Okay, how'd you do that?"

Isaac shrugged, "Za controls remind me just a tiny bit of za old EOD robots zat BEAR has lying around. I messed around with zem quite a bit, and got pretty good at using zem, so adjusting to zis simple machine isn't very hard for me."

"Well anyways..." Tatenashi surprised Isaac with a big spine-crushing hug, "Thank you Ize-kun!"

Isaac grit his teeth, "Is...no problem. Let go now please."

"Well, not that I don't enjoy the sight of the Russian cadets getting along so famously," A male's voice said, and Tatenashi and Isaac saw a medium sized man with brown hair leaning against the game Isaac was just playing. The man was wearing a black business suit with a white dress shirt complete with a red tie. His eyes were covered with shades, but Isaac and Tatenashi could tell he was staring them down.

"But I suppose it's time to address the business at hand."

"Our contact, I assume?" Tatenashi guessed, dropping Isaac and holding her new kitty to her chest.

The man took off his shades and exposed his brown eyes, "Correct. I'm Milo Gorbachev, KGB." Milo flashed his KGB ID very quickly before putting it away just as quick.

Isaac nodded slowly, "I am Sergent Isaac Romanov, BEAR."

"And I'm Tatenashi Sarashiki, Head of the Sarashiki Family." Tatenashi introduced herself politely.

"Charmed," Milo said quickly, "Let's retire to a less...noisy area, shall we?"

* * *

"Ah...much better." Milo said as he sat down at the table of the outdoor restaurant he led Isaac and Tatenashi to. The KGB agent cracked his neck with a turn of his head and appeared to relax just a hair.

"So," Isaac started, "What brings you all za way to Japan, Mr. Gorbachev? Updates? Requests? Maybe some of za good old fashioned encouragement?"

Milo furrowed his brow, "Tragedy and retaliation actually, straight from the Prime Minister himself."

Tatenashi looked confused, "Tragedy?"

Milo took a small envelope from his breast pocket and slid it across the table to the cadets, Isaac caught it and opened it up with a degree of care, as if it were a bomb, as Tatenashi looked at it over his shoulder. Inside, there was a aerial photograph from a satellite of a military base in the western part of Siberia, as well as two photos, one of a white 3rd Generation IS with red, blade-like protrusions from the shoulders, forearms, and shins. And the other of a heavily armored solid black IS with yellow trim and a massive cannon mounted on the right shoulder as well as a chaingun on the left.

Isaac looked up at Milo and raised an eyebrow, "What is zis?"

"I'm glad you asked. That is Novosibirsk, a base in West Siberia for storage of military supplies and weapons that was also modified to become a R&D base for Russian 3rd Gen IS." Milo said plainly.

"So what happened?" Tatenashi asked, pushing for an answer.

Instead of answering, Milo tapped the picture of the white IS. "And this is Bloody Sunday, one of the four Russian 3rd Gen IS currently developed. It is a medium to close range IS with state-of-the art shielding used in both of your IS. It also has a maximum speed close to that of an Ignition Boost. All in all, it's a very strong IS."

Milo then tapped the black IS "Now this is on the opposite spectrum. This is Iron Curtain, a long range artillery-type IS with heavy armor plating alongside the shielding, and even heavier weapons behind that. Truly a destructive weapon."

"Zat's great, but what does zat have to do with us?" Isaac said, putting the pictures back into the envelope and sliding it back to Milo.

"Because, my dear boy. As of 0500 AM yesterday, Novosibirsk was attacked by an unknown force piloting IS. The soldiers inside managed to hold off the attackers while the two IS were being evacuated, but the defenses around Bloody Sunday were crushed and the IS was stolen."

"Stolen? How'd zis happen?" Isaac questioned, the Russian teen was clearly very disturbed by this news. Just the thought of a 3rd Gen IS, especially a Russian one, in some terrorist's hands...nothing good could ever come of that.

Milo shrugged, "Clearly the terrorists had an inside agent, because another simultaneous attempt at stealing Iron Curtain occurred in a Russian military base in the Ukraine. Luckily, the terrorists failed, and Iron Curtain was relocated to Moscow and is under heavy security right now."

Tatenashi went straight into her serious mood after hearing this news, "And the Prime Minister thinks we could be the next targets, doesn't he?"

Milo nodded, "The evidence speaks for itself, you both are already under a good amount of protection from the ISA, but the Prime Minister felt that you could use a extra boost so to speak. So he has greenlighted the beginning to Project Siberia early."

"Project what?" Tatenashi and Isaac both said at once.

"Oh right, you don't know." Milo mused, the Russian man sighed and ran a hand though his hair. "Haven't you both been wondering why your IS haven't undergone a First Shift yet? Even though you have used them enough for it to occur a few dozen times over?" Milo asked.

Neither of the teens responded right away, but Tatenashi was the first to say something.

"I did find it odd that everyone else's IS have preformed a First Shift while ours didn't, is there some reason for this?"

Milo nodded, "Before we sent our first rep to Japan, the Prime Minister installed limiters on all the 3rd Gen IS from Russia to prevent other countries from stealing the secrets of Russian IS by forcing the IS to remain in their factory settings, and thus hiding their real forms and stats. That is what Project Siberia is in a nutshell."

"And when was the Prime Minister planning on telling us zis?" Isaac demanded.

"If everything went accordingly, then as soon as you, Sarashiki, and the pilots of Bloody Sunday and Iron Curtain were all together. To ensure that noone would try to steal data we had to wait until you were all and monitor the students for any sign of treachery." Milo said.

"Zat is moronic, za whole reason za ISA accepted us was to gather data on Russian IS." Isaac commented.

Milo shrugged, "You're missing the point of the entire project. Think about it, what's the point of having four Russian 3rd Generation IS all enrolled in the ISA at the same time while all the other countries only have one?"

Isaac looked Milo in the eye, "Educate me zen."

Milo sighed yet again, "The purpose of Project Siberia, the absolute real purpose, is to select the best one of the four 3rd Generation IS to become the next mass-produce model in Russia. All of the Project Siberia IS are unique in their own ways, and we simply wish to know which one is the best."

Tatenashi blinked, "So it's a contest?"

"I suppose you could call it that, but nevertheless back to the topic at hand." Milo said, cracking his knuckles. "Our original plan was to wait until all four pilots were together before we began, but due to the circumstances we have decided to begin early. Partially to gather data, and partially to give you some defense from any chance that the terrorists might come after the remaining IS in the project."

"So that means-?" Isaac started.

Milo took two flashdrives from his suit and gave one to each teen, "These will unlock your IS's First Shifts at the moment you install them, please do it now."

Isaac took the drive and held it over his bracelet, then N Beta quickly scanned it and ripped the activation code from the small device and she immediately began working on it. When he looked up, Tatenashi was already giving her drive back, so he did as well.

"Now then..." The KGB agent said, leaning in and looking both teens in the eyes. "Project Siberia begins now. Both of you are dismissed, return to the ISA at once."

"Thank you for your time Mr. Gorbachev." Tatenashi said, getting up and grabbing ahold of her stuffed kitty.

"Sir." Isaac said simply, mimicking Tatenashi's move.

"You can stay for just a moment Sergent. Sarashiki may leave" Milo said, gesturing for him to take a seat.

Isaac looked at Tatenashi, "I'll meet you back at the tram station, alright?"

Tatenashi nodded and walked off as Isaac took his seat again.

For the first time in their meeting, Milo smiled, it was an odd little smile that had some deeper meaning behind it. "Things sure have been crazy in the past 10 years, haven't they? I remember when a missile armed with a nuclear warhead was the single most dangerous weapon on the planet, and any man who held one was feared and respected by everyone else."

"History has proven zat things have a tenancy to change quite drastically very quick." Isaac said, not exactly sure where Milo was going with this.

"Ah, but not like this Sergent, not quite like this. Thousands of years of warfare, countless men's deaths, and God knows how many days of work and leadership by the men of society... all cast away like meaningless trash in just 10 years, treated like a bitter memory by the women that stand at the top now. And it's all because of a silly flying robot suit."

Isaac raised an eyebrow, "Where are you going with zis?"

"I'll be blunt with you Sergent, men are treated as second-class citizens by women in this day and age simply because we can't can pilot the IS. But now we found men like you who can fly an IS, and that puts us on equal footing with them. I believe if you show the natural superiority of men in piloting an IS, then these problems will go away for good. So thats why you need to win Project Siberia, to put men back on their rightful place at the top." Milo explained with spirit.

Isaac sniffed with disgust, and pushed himself up out of the chair. "I've heard enough, zis conversation is over. Good day Mr. Gorbachev."

"Sergent Romanov, the women have built up a wall over us. And we, the men, must build a bigger wall to make things the way they were and have peace between the sexes!" Milo said, also getting up.

"That's wrong, men were the ones who built a wall over women, one that has stood for thousands of years. Fighting oppression with oppression will only make things worse zen they already are." Isaac said, staring Milo in the eye with fire. "I believe za women only want equality and a chance to be treated za same as all people should be. If you truly wish for peace Mr. Gorbachev, if you seek prosperity for za men and women of this time, if you seek to make things better, zen Mr. Gorbachev..." Isaac started, giving Milo an even more intense gaze that only a man with a cause could give.

"Tear down this wall." Isaac finished, turning away and walking before Milo could even say anything.

Isaac kept on walking and didn't stop until he hit the tram station that went to the ISA and found Tatenashi waiting for him.

"Hey Ize, what did Mr. Gorbachev want with you back there?" Tatenashi asked as she played a little with her stuffed kitty.

Isaac smiled, "Oh nothing much, we just talked politics a little."

* * *

**ISA Arena, 3:20 PM**

* * *

Isaac sat alone in the bleachers of the arena and tapped his bracelet rhythmically without knowing it while looking out into the dusty field were IS battled with watchful eyes. He had gone though the remainder of his classes with his mind occupied on the matter with Red Czar, and he decided on what he wanted to do about it not very long ago. So at the first chance he got, he changed into his pilot suit and went to the arena.

A fully grown and complete N materialized and sat next to Isaac, "I'm not an expert on human emotions, but you appear to be either anxious or constipated."

That shook Isaac out of his stare, "What? I'm just waiting for Seolis to get here, I know he comes to practice every day after class, so I'm wanting to fight a bit."

N nodded, "I've known you long enough to know when there's something else you want, perhaps your meeting with Mr. Gorbachev has stirred up some ideas?"

"For someone who supposedly doesn't know human emotion, you are quite good at reading zem." Isaac said with a small smile.

"So I am right then?" N pushed.

Isaac leaned back, "As much as I hate to admit, there was redeemable truth to what Mr. Gorbachev was saying. Men nowadays are treated as second-class citizens by women because of za IS. But I don't think they should be punished for acting zis way, after all they just want equality."

N's eyes flashed green-yellow, and she smiled. "Sergent, Seolis is coming as well as Miss Falls and Miss Rosario."

Isaac stood up and cracked his neck, "Is za download complete?"

"Yes sir, all ready to go once you deploy. I have to say, Red Czar's real form is quite strong, I'll be looking forward to seeing it go up against Flare Streak." N said with a hint of joy in her voice.

"Well zen, I guess it's time to get to work." Isaac said, hopping off the bleachers and standing out in the center of the field.

Seolis entered the arena with Rosario and Erin following, they were all talking with each other and didn't seem to notice Isaac at first.

"Yo, comrades!" Isaac shouted.

Seolis looked over where Isaac was and saw him, the three teens all walked over to the center with him.

"Oh, it's just you Isaac." Seolis said, crossing his arms.

Isaac raised an eyebrow, "Who else calls you guys comrades?"

"I suppose only you do. So, what're you doing out here so late? You usually practice in the mornings." Seolis asked, slightly curious.

"I vas in za area, and I thought I might drop by and have a match with my American rival. Isaac explained, shifting his bracelet a little.

Erin sniffed, "Why don't you just battle me or Rosa? I'm sure Seolis is busy."

"No," Seolis started, "I can honestly say I've wanted to battle you for some time."

Isaac grinned widely, "Same here comrade, let's get started zen."

Erin and Rosario both backed up to the bleachers and took their seats as the two boys took their places at the starting positions. Seolis summoned Flare Streak and smiled as his beam sabers hissed to life.

Isaac tapped his bracelet, "Time to show me your stuff, Red Czar." he whispered to his bracelet as he engaged the summoning process.

Isaac was consumed by bright crimson lights that grew less intense by the second, and in no time at all he stood there in the new Red Czar, it was slimmer and looked even more aerodynamic then the original and this time it had wing units hovering by it's shoulders. The goggles that Isaac wore were gone, and replaced with a metal headband. Isaac raised his hands and two Skorpion submachine guns appeared in them.

Seolis's eyes widened, "What the hell?"

Isaac grinned even wider, "Oh hell yeah! Look at all za damn guns on zis thing! And it's got zat too huh? Oh man, what a perfect war machine!" The Russian shouted with joy as a targeting reticule appeared over his right eye.

Seolis raised his sabers, "What did you do to your IS?"

"Nothing! Comrade Seolis, this is Red Czar's true form, za First Shift!" Isaac said, leveling his guns at Seolis and firing off a short burst.

Seolis swiped the bullets away from him with his blades, and fired his thrusters up and closing the distance between the two. "A few new toys won't beat me so easily."

Isaac gave up his Skorpions and summoned an AKM with grenade launcher, "We'll just have too see about zat!"

Bullets met blades again as Isaac and Seolis battled on the move, prodding at each others defenses with small attacks. Seolis tried for an overhead slice, but Isaac intercepted the slash and planted his fist in Seolis's ribs. A short hissing noise was heard before Seolis was catapulted sixty feet away. He managed to recover before he hit the ground and stood in place, hovering off the ground

"Ha, genius!" Isaac shouted, drawing back his fist. "A hydraulics system in za IS makes close-quarters combat a breeze! I didn't even hit that hard and look at za results!"

"Not bad, I admit. But let's see how you fight in the air!" Seolis boasted, firing his beam rifle quickly and nailing Isaac in the chest.

Isaac fired up Red Czar's flight thrusters and shot into the air, peppering Flare Streak with a few rounds and firing his grenade launcher when Seolis tried to gain some ground but ended up dodging the projectile, the 40mm grenade suddenly protruded flight wings and fired it's own thruster while it turned itself around came back at Seolis.

Seolis sliced the little grenade turned missile in half with his saber, and it detonated at a safe distance.

"Cool, mini-missiles." Isaac said, loading another mini-missile.

"Nice little trick, but to slow to compare against me." Seolis said, engaging the afterburners and delivering a series of slashes to Isaac with both sabers before Isaac summoned his Skorpions back and unloaded their clips point black into Seolis, then punched Seolis right in the head with his hydraulic fist.

Seolis recovered again, "This has gone on long enough, now lets get serious." He let his beam sabers go in favor of his newest weapon, a double bladed energy scythe, which he twirled around skillfully.

Isaac grinned, "Okay, time for za big boom. What do I have?" he quickly searched his weapon list and found exactly what he needed.

Isaac summoned his RPG-7V2 and leveled it at the ground. And an aiming reticule appeared over his right eye again, even though he didn't seem to be aiming anything.

Seolis was a bit wary of Isaac's new behavior, "If you aren't going to attack, the I guess I will." Seolis twirled his scythe again and rushed towards Isaac, planning a feint.

The reticule beeped and Isaac smiled, "Fire."

Big, twin missiles shot out of Isaac's wing units and their thrusters roared to life, propelling them into the sky in a flash. The two missiles' thrusters stopped after a bit and opened up and when Seolis saw them do that, he knew exactly what they were.

Clusters of little missiles rained from the sky and engaged their thrusters at a certain height, Their red shaped charges glinted in the light when they all turned towards Seolis and fired their thrusters to get him.

Isaac hovered with his RPG now mounted on his shoulder, "Pretty cool huh? I think I vill call zis weapon za Steel Rain of Russia, what do you think?"

"Oh crap thats alot of missiles!" Seolis yelled, swiping a few with his scythe as they got close and retreating as the others closed in.

"And as if zat was enough, here is something extra." Isaac said merrily, launching his RPG to pursue Seolis alongside the mini-missiles.

Seolis fired his thrusters as far as they would go, doing every trick in the book to avoid the missiles that only got closer. Seolis took out a few with his rifle, but one slammed into him and caused him to lose his speed and crash right into the ground, plowing a stretch about two hundred feet long.

Seolis got up just in time to see the remaining missiles screaming towards him, and he raised his defensive shield and hands as a last ditch attempt as he waited for the blast to take him out.

_Fwip Fwip BOOOOM!_

Seolis opened his eyes just a bit and saw a huge fireball in front of him that reached to the top of the arena. He checked himself for sighs of damage, but he didn't find anything.

Impossible, he thought, those missiles should have messed me up pretty bad, so why am I fine?

_Smash!_ Isaac plowed into the dirt right beside Seolis, and pushed himself up to face the top of the arena.

"What za hell you damn buzzkill!?" Isaac shouted, "I has zis match in za bag!"

Seolis followed Isaac's look, and his heart skipped several beats when he saw who Isaac was talking to.

A blue IS with white trim hovered where Isaac had been previously, and held up it's beam rifle. This IS was reminiscent of the Blue Tears, but it had much more Bits attached to it's wing units, and it had a more futuristic look to it. The rifle it held was a very high end model energy weapon that sported an energy bayonet, it was probably was better then Blue Tears' sniper as well. The pilot angled it's head in a questioning manner as it looked at the two boys, then it raised it's rifle.

Isaac grabbed up his AKM, "Who's zis bitch?"

Seolis stood up slowly and put his hand on Isaac's rifle, lowering it. He then drew his beam sabers and ignited them both at once.

"So its you again, after all these years you finally decided to show your face again." Seolis said.

"You know her Seolis?" Isaac asked.

"It's been a long time, but now I can fulfill the promise I made years ago..." Seolis said darkly, staring the pilot down with an intense glare of pure hate.

"Now I can kill you!"

* * *

**That's it for now, next chap is gonna be awesome. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	7. Enter The ES!

**Sup guys? I return with a chapter and I'm ready to entertain you for a spell...If you are craving some righteous violence that is of course.**

**Just a warning first, I've been wondering a bit about how the military in the IS universe would handle the IS intruding on their territory of war, and I came up with a concept I hope you find entertaining. I was made aware that other stories have done something similar to this, but I wanted to share my idea forit anyways.  
**

**Now, where were we...?**

* * *

** C130 Hercules transport jet, s****omewhere above Tokyo, Japan.**

* * *

The jet rumbled and groaned as it sped across the skies with it's heavy payload inside, as still as death, waiting for the order to jump and plummet into the LZ to complete the mission given to them by their superiors.

A red light began flashing and a loud beeping noise sounded over the groaning of the jet, the red light flashing off the three black giants in the cargo bay. The intercom buzzed.

"Attention all crew, Landing Zone Indigo Sierra Alpha is now in range, 10 clicks east, all combat personnel please enter your respective Exodus Suits and sound off."

The black giants lit up and moved their huge limbs smoothly, each one had glowing white-blue eyes and hulking bodies riddled in thick armor.

"5 of Diamonds, check."

"2 of Hearts, check."

"7 of Clubs, check."

The intercom buzzed again, "All persons accounted for, all Draws move to the drop door and await further instructions."

The giants did as they were told, and in no time they were all lined up in a row as the huge back door of the jet hissed open and revealed the screaming skies it had hid from. Each giant tapped the one in front of it to signal it was ready.

"All units are green, jump in three...two...one...drop!"

The three giants leaped out of the plane and fell, twisting their bodies into a spread out form to control their fall as they plummeted through the blue skies towards their target.

Landing Zone Indigo Sierra Alpha...The ISA.

* * *

Isaac smiled in sweet satisfaction as he watched his American opponent tried to avoid the cluster of missiles chasing him down from all sides. He had his RPGV2 lowered at his side, and he let it go so he could have his trusty AKM back at his side. Down below, Seolis was picking off missiles with his rifle, but he could see he was fighting a losing battle against the Russia's Steel Rain weapon. Isaac chuckled to himself, and N's face appeared on his HUD.

"Something funny Sergent?" N asked.

Isaac shrugged and raised his rifle , "Ne ochenʹ, I vas just remembering when someone told me zat za Flare Streak was above Red Czar's level as an IS. And now zat Red Czar is complete, I've caught Seolis off guard. And now I will beat him for sure." Isaac said the last words with emphasis.

N was quiet for a second. "Does beating Seolis mean that much to you?"

"No, I could care less if I win this fight." Isaac said bluntly, "Za whole reason I challenged Seolis was to see just how strong Red Czar is now, and za best way to implement this new variable was to pit it against a strong opponent and see how we fare. I wouldn't be so relaxed with zis match if it was for real, and I know Seolis wouldn't be overwhelmed if he had seen the First Shift before the battle"

N looked confused, "So this was just one big trial run?"

"Basically, yeah." Isaac mused.

N sighed and shook her head, "But why take such a drastic approach? I'm sure a less violent route could have been taken."

Isaac's mouth parted into a small smile. "But zis way is more fun, da?"

"I suppose so..." N replied with an air of astonishment. She had gotten to know her partner very well after their many years as a team, and she had come to realize that Isaac, while smart and cunning, often chose the blunt, guns-blazing style of approach when it came to new gear. Such had been the case when he nearly broke his rifle in half at the firing range at boot camp due to over exerting the weapon. N had learned that he was like that all the time in his training, despite being the youngest member. N had also been quite surprised at Isaac when she first became his partner AI, to think that that simple peasant boy from a little town in the ass-end of the permafrosted Western Siberian tundra evolved into one of Russia's elite BEAR special forces operatives. It was quite intriguing to the Swedish AI.

Seolis's flight was disrupted by one of the mini-missiles clipping him in the leg and plowing him into the ground, deep into a stretch two hundred feet long. The missiles themselves seemed to sense the new weakness, and fired their thrusters towards their long sought out target.

N looked back at her partner's face, and saw only calm cool.

Isaac's eyes followed the missiles as Seolis put up his defensive shields, "And zis is how it ends, spasibo za igru , moy drug."

The red shaped charges of the mini-missiles glinted evilly as they homed in on their target, and Isaac saw Seolis brace himself for the impact.

_Fwip fwip. BOOOOM!_

Isaac stared in total disbelief at the roaring ball of flame that rolled up into the sky from where his missiles were just a few seconds ago. He felt the heat wave against his face, and he blinked away the acrid feeling.

"Vat in za hell!?" Isaac retorted out loud.

"Sergent! Unknown IS spotted, 5'0 clock!" N hastily said.

Isaac quickly looked towards the direction N had said, and didn't even get to register the newcomer before a blue streak slammed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him and catapulting him into the ground beside his American friend.

Seolis watched Isaac rub his head and sit up from his spot, and sent a death glare at the new IS. Seolis himself felt an electric shock when he saw the blue, white trimmed IS hovering above them.

"Vat za hell you damn buzzkill!" Isaac shouted in his harsh Russian accent. "I had zis match in za bag!"

The blue IS simply tilted it's head to the side as it acknowledged the two male pilots, then it raised it's rifle with it's bayonet glowing.

Isaac stiffened as he saw the rifle, it was a model of rifle made by the English called Star Breaker. This type of rifle was capable of using both high-powered energy and solid ammo as a projectile, and the bayonet was just icing on the deadly cake. All in all, this IS was clearly a 3rd Gen model with high-end English tech, leading the Russian to believe it and the pilot were also English.

A mechanical creak sounded as Isaac grabbed up his AKM and assumed a kneeling firing position with the barrel pointed dead at the IS.

"Who is zis bitch?" Isaac asked out loud.

Seolis stood up slowly and put his hand on Isaac's rifle, lowering it. He then drew his beam sabers and ignited them both at once.

"So its you again, after all these years you finally decided to show your face again." Seolis said.

"You know her Seolis?" Isaac asked.

"It's been a long time, but now I can fulfill the promise I made years ago..." Seolis said darkly, staring the pilot down with an intense glare of pure hate.

"Now I can kill you!" Seolis yelled as he charged with both sabers poised to cut the blue IS in half.

"Wait Comrade!" Isaac shouted, gunning Red Czar's boosters to intercept Seolis.

Seolis looked back at his Russian friend and fired his rifle directly in Red Czar's path, stopping Isaac.

"You stay out of this, or next time I won't miss..."

Isaac stared at his friend in total disbelief, "You can't be serious comrade!"

Seolis just narrowed his eyes, and turned back towards the blue IS. "Try me."

Isaac clenched his teeth, "So vat za hell am I supposed to do, sit here with my thumb up my ass while you fight some bitch who scratched my new paint job?"

"New unknown targets approaching, and fast, contact in five seconds. Straight up!" N reported.

"Vat are they? More IS?" Isaac asked, tightening his grip on his rifle.

"No Sergent, profile is different...it's almost like they are..."

A huge crashing sound was heard from above as three huge black metal giants shattered through the energy barrier of the arena and gunned their thrusters for a softer feet-first landing, still landing hard enough to shake the ground and make craters in the dirt. The giants stood up straight, and their helmeted heads surveyed the area with glowing white-blue eyes. Their heavily armored frames gleamed in the light. It took only a split-second too recognize them as mechs, but they clearly weren't IS.

For one, they were too big to be IS. All of them were nearly ten and a half feet tall, and had very bulky, heavy looking armor all over it's body, not a single square inch of skin was showing from under the armor. Another thing to notice is that they had no wing units, instead they all had various weapons mounted on their shoulders, Isaac saw chainguns, missile pods, and energy cannons on them after a quick look.

One of the mechs, a black one with the number 5 inside a diamond on it's chest, reached over it's shoulder and drew out a long barreled M110 sniper rifle that was magnetically sealed to it's back alongside two or three other weaons. And Isaac noticed that all three of the mechs had also drawn weapons as well, choosing one of the four that they all had. One with a 7 inside a club was carrying a weapon that resembled a Milkor MGL grenade launcher as well as a PKM LMG, and the last one, 2 inside a heart, was dual wielding Vector submachine guns.

A shocked look was plastered on Isaac's face, "No way...Exodus Suits?" He breathed in total amazement at the armored mech suits.

"What are ES doing here?" N wondered.

5 Diamond suddenly raised it's rifle quickly and fired, Isaac felt the 7.62x51mm IS Cal round skim past his head as he simply stood there. 5 Diamond lined up another shot, but Isaac fired his rifle and hit the ES in the hand before it pulled the trigger, causing the shot to go wild. Isaac retreated to a safer distance.

Seolis sniffed, "Guess you can deal with those ones." He said as he took of towards the blue IS.

"Seolis! Goddammit wait!" Isaac yelled once more, making a move to follow.

He didn't get far before 2 Heart fired a burst from it's Vectors and peppered Red Czar's left side. Isaac pivoted to avoid more of the oncoming bullets, firing a volley of his own, striking 2 Heart in the torso. The big mech staggered back from the force of the hit, but didn't go down.

5 Diamond made a waving motion with it's right hand, "All Draws, attack pattern Whiskey Tango!" said a mechanical voice that sounded distinctly male came out from behind the mech's helmet, and the other two mechs immediately complied by 7 Club firing his boosters backward and engaging his shoulder mounted energy cannon into a firing position while 2 Heart and 5 Diamond flanked to the sides in a pincher method.

"N, target za far ES for za mini-missile, and follow za others movement." Isaac commanded his AI.

"Yes Sergent, all targets locked on." N replied to her handler as he fired his grenade launcher at 7 Club, then summoned his Skorpions back to deal with the fast approaching 5 Diamond and 2 Heart. Issac followed their pincer movement and intercepted 2 Heart with a burst of bullets, the volley seemed to slow the ES down a fraction. But the two machines kept coming, raising their weapons at Isaac...

* * *

**Inside the 7 of Clubs ES.**

* * *

7 Club's energy cannon glowed as the plasma inside was charged into a projectile. And the mech planted it's feet firmly into the ground as it tracked the missile heading towards it. Inside the mech, the pilot's face, obscured by blue light,became a slight grin. He watched as the missile came close, then simply swatted the thing out of the air like a paper plane, ignoring the ensuing blast that happened.

7 Club had been waiting for the chance to go on this mission, even if it was just a poke at the ISA's defense. But hey, anything to help The Deck. A light blinked inside his helmet, and he smiled a bit more.

"Mach Cannon ready to go, move out of the way. Firing for effect." 7 Club said over his channel to 5 Diamond and 2 Heart.

The Russian kid in the IS was having a bit of a problem handling the two ES fighting him at once with planned, synchronized attacks that left little time to recover. But nevertheless, the kid still managed to land a few hits here and there.

5 Diamond and 2 Heart both heard the order, and immediately backed off by reverse firing their boosters and propelling themselves backward. The kid seemed to be caught off guard by this, but realization dawned on him at the last moment as he finally noticed the energy cannon glowing on 7 Club's shoulder.

"See ya kid." 7 Club said as he locked onto the Russian kid, and began triggering the firing mechanism on his shoulder.

Out of nowhere, a dull thud was heard right in front of 7 Club. And out of habit, the pilot looked down, and got the surprise of his life. A fully blackened pineapple grenade the size of a softball was sitting at his feet, the safety lever was nowhere to be seen. 7 Club looked up to the Russian kid, who was now smiling.

"Suka , pozhaluysta! As if I'd fall for zat." He laughed heartily as the grenade he threw made a pinging noise milliseconds before it exploded and hit the ES full force.

7 Club let the weight of his ES take the majority of the force, cutting the blow down to nearly zero, but he knew that his right arm was damaged. 7 Club cursed silently, he had underestimated this kid a little, but now he wasn't going to hold anything back.

"Club, what's next?" Diamond asked, jarring Club out of his thought.

"He is more skilled then they made him sound in the briefing, that much is clear." Heart added.

Club shrugged his ES's massive shoulders, "Then the answer is clear, we quit playing around and crush this punk. Bring out attack plan Uniform November, and watch each other's backs got it?"

"Roger." Both Diamond and Heart said together.

"Then let's go. Begin attack plan." Club ordered as he charged towards the Russian, with his PKM drawn and blazing.

* * *

**Russian Embassy, Tokyo, Japan.**

* * *

Nikolai Bellinska groaned as his back cracked when he sat down in his cushy desk chair and looked with a grimace at the rather large packet of papers someone had placed on his desk. He had been swamped in paperwork ever since the ENRAGE incident a few days ago. The brass back home was seriously freaking out over this stuff, witch Nikolai found a bit ironic, seeing how ENRAGE was entirely their fault. But whatever, he had a load of work to do today, and little to no time to criticize his government.

Nikolai picked up a random paper from the top of the stack and noted the Russian national seal at the top of the page and started skimming it. It was a rewrite of the attack and hijacking of the 3rd Gen IS Bloody Sunday in Novosibirsk, but as his eyes trailed down the page, he red that President had ordered Project Siberia to begin immediately after the attack was reported to him and that the codes for First Shift had already been given to Sergent Isaac Romanov and Sarasaki Tatenashi.

"Well shit." Nikolai remarked as he continued to read, "Zey really are going batshit crazy back home aren't zey? Guess ENRAGE and Bloody Sunday happening both at once was a real kick in za ass for zem."

Nikolai flung the paper back on his desk and reached into his desk for the small bottle of whiskey he kept there. He also grabbed a well crafted glass and poured himself some, he started raising the glass to his mouth, but stopped.

"You know...I think I might have za drinking problem..." He said out loud to himself, lowering the glass.

"Oh well, we solve it with more alcohol!" He said, throwing the glass back and feeling the burning liquid slide easily down his throat.

"Thought I told you not to drink at work, Captain." The all to familiar voice of General Morozov said a fair amount of disdain. Nikolai looked up and was surprised to see the older man wearing a lightly armored one piece black jumpsuit with two thick bright yellow lines on both shoulder pieces, with a reasonably thick chestplate and arm guards that were also colored yellow. Nikolai's eyes fell to the other armored jumpsuit he was carrying at his side that bore the same armor, but this one had light grey colorings instead of the yellow ones that Morozov had.

"Ah sir, zis is?" Nikolai asked innocently. The Russian man barely had any time to catch the heavy jumpsuit that the General threw at him.

"Shut up and suit up, we are flying to the ISA now." Morozov said very quickly, turning away almost as soon as he had finished.

Nikolai looked down at the suit, then back up at his superior. "Sir?"

Morozov threw a glare back at Nikolai, concentrated anger gleaming in his gaze.

"NOW."

Nikolai flinched at the intense glare, and quickly started to change into the jumpsuit. "Y-yes sir!"

"Good," Morozov said normally, "After you change, go to Launch Bay 2. Personal ES Maestro and Mockingbird are already prepped, and heavy combat loads are equipped. We will be flying in five minutes."

Nikolai zipped up the jumpsuit and adjusted the armor on it. "Mind if I ask what for sir?"

Morozov paused for once, the elderly man looked back at Nikolai yet again. "Code Midnight."

The gravity of the situation hit Nikolai full force with those two little words.

Code Midnight: high scale terrorist attack on the ISA.

Nikolai jumped over his desk, now clad in the jumpsuit. A serious look of grim determination replaced the usual calm and easy-going demeanor that Nikolai usually had. Morozov and Nikolai both exited the office and begun running to Launch Bay 2.

"Sir, any idea who is reasonable for the attack? Revolutionists? Mercenaries?" Nikolai asked.

Morozov shook his head. "It's The Deck."

Nikolai narrowed his eyes, "It can't be...they died out years ago."

"The Deck, an elite band of 45 high-class mercenaries that specialize in za use of Exodus Suits. It's rumored that they were responsible for za destabilization and Democratic takeover of Sudan, Laos and Qatar among other small nations. No one has seen or heard of them in nearly eight years, and now they suddenly pop up out of nowhere and manage to breech the ISA's defenses and directly attack in a blitzkrieg move." Morozov said, head hung slightly. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Sir, look alive!" Nikolai said as they entered Launch Bay 2. Several VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) supersonic jets were already prepping takeoff, and two heavily customized ES with jet turbines on their backs sat in the flight deck awaiting their pilots. One of the ES had a yellow chestplate and shoulder pieces and no noticable weapons, and the other had a segmented grey chestplate and shoulder pieces and had an Ultimax LMG held in it's hands. Now technically, the Russian Embassy was not allowed to have high grade military hardware on Japanese soil, but the Prime Minister had decided that the Russian Embassy would act as Russia's first response team to any attack on the ISA.

A BEAR engineer noticed Morozov and Nikolai enter, and signaled to some other engineers to clear the flight deck. The first engineer ran up to the duo and followed them to the deck again.

"Sirs, the total number of enemies is four. One IS and three ES. The rapid response team has been deployed, but they won't make it in time. So General Zeyzev Morozov's and Captain Nikolai Belinska's Personal ES, Maestro and Mockingbird, have been equipped with one-shot Ignition Boosters so they could get to the battle faster and assist in the defense of the ISA." The engineer reported swiftly.

Morozov nodded, "Spasibo Crewman, that will be all."

The engineer nodded, "Yes sir!" He turned to the other engineers and gave a thumbs up. "Pilots comin up!"

Morozov walked up to the ES with the yellow details and quickly scaled it to climb into the cockpit, he activated it and made the machine stand up. The helmet piece locked over his face and the eyes of the machine blazed golden as Maestro, General Morozov's Personal ES, became fully online. Morozov looked to his left and saw that Nikolai had already activated his Personal ES, Mockingbird, and was waiting on the launch line, so he stepped on and activated his booster.

"Attention! All counter strike units launch now!"

"Let's go Captain!" Morozov ordered, and he and Nikolai gunned their boosters and flew right into the blue skies of Tokyo, aimed right towards the ISA.

Nikolai grit his teeth as they flew, he could see laser fire from here. He only hoped that they would be there in time.

* * *

Isaac reloaded his AKM and grinned despite the pain he was in. The three ES all took this chance to regroup and aim their guns. They were all a bit beat up, the one with the heart on it's shoulder took a shotgun blast to the face, and half it's helmet was badly dented. The diamond was caught in an explosion and took off the heavy armor on it's right arm. And the club also had damage to it's right arm from the grenade.

N came into focus in Isaac's vision, "They are quite strong Sergent, but we don't have time for them. We have to help Mr. Kraven in his battle, might I suggest using the Steel Rain again?"

Isaac grunted, "Seems our best bet, how long are za preparations going to take?"

"Two minutes."

Isaac smiled, "Nice, I get to fight some more."

"Be careful Isaac." N said sternly.

"Zey might be full fledged soldiers, but I can handle zem." Isaac said, unleashing a small burst of his AKM and peppering Club's torso. The Russian began closing the distance and launching volleys of rifle rounds all the while.

Diamond landed several hits to Isaac's leg units using his rifle and chaingun, and Club launched a grenade from his launcher. Heart was rushing to meet Isaac with his Vector guns. Isaac shot Heart in his leg, making the unit fall to one knee, and used the kneeling machine as a springboard to catapult himself skyward. The grenade round missed entirely and exploded far from where Isaac now was.

Isaac drew his RPG and launched three RPGs in rapid succession towards the group of ES. Club charged his energy cannon and blasted the RPGs out of the sky as his counterpart Heart let a cluster of five missiles fly from the rocket pod on his shoulder.

"Sergent, Steel Rain is ready. Launching now!" N reported.

"Rodzer, let zem have it!" Isaac ordered, launching another RPG to add to the heavy missile barrage as the main rockets fired and began splitting apart. hundreds of the tiny missile clusters arced from the sky and bore down on the three ES. Despite this, they stood still not even trying to escape to barrage.

"Huh, whats going on here?" Isaac asked, "Why aren't zey trying to dodge?"

The three ES just sat calmly as the rockets drew nearer, then when the rockets were within detonation range they just...stopped. Not as in they fell or fizzled out, they literally stopped in the air, still held aloft and the jets still going. The ES now resembled highly explosive porcupines.

N appeared on Isaac's HUD, "Sergent, I can see a powerful kinetic field radiating from the ES. It matches the missiles velocity and keeps it away, but its getting stronger!"

"And zat means..." Isaac started.

"They can overpower them and send them back!" N finished.

"No way!" Issac yelled, the Russian teenager glared as he watched the missile clusters slowly turn around and point their red tips straight at him.

Isaac was brave and strong, but he wasn't an idiot. Even Red Czar couldn't stop all the missiles, and the missiles themselves couldn't correct their course in time to miss him. He could try to outmaneuver them, but they were made to chase IS. His best bet was to take out as many as possible to minimize damage.

"New plan N!" Isaac said, drawing duel Skorpions and firing away. "Draw all remaining energy towards the front shields please!"

N nodded, "Lets hope this works!"

"Da!" Isaac yelled, taking out a cluster of missiles with a rapid burst.

Isaac was so focused on the missiles in the front, that he didn't notice the small group of missiles flanking him from behind until they slammed into his back and detonated. Isaac's shielding wavered with the sudden shock of the blow, and the remaining missiles exploded on his weakened shielded chestplate. Isaac dropped like a rock right out of the sky, and plowed a ten foot deep crater into the ground. The lights on Red Czar went out, and Isaac felt warm blood trickle down his forehead to his chin.

"No way..." Isaac mumbled, half in a daze. "I-I can't lose here. I was so close, no way I'm giving up."

Isaac strained to lift the heavy armored frame of Red Czar by himself, without the help of the hydraulic system that made it easy to move. "Get up. Get up! GET UP!" He yelled, struggling under the metal exoskeleton he was bound in. Isaac thrashed around to try to make Red Czar move even an inch, but it was no good.

"Der'mo! Fucking get up!" Isaac shouted finally, sinking back into his armor and taking huge breaths. The three ES were slowly lumbering towards Isaac with their guns drawn.

"Geez, how pathetic. Thought you were stronger then this Isaac." A male voice said over Isaac's HUD. It sounded vaguely familiar, but Isaac couldn't quite place it. "But don't worry, now it's my turn..."

"Nataline?" Isaac said, using his AI's full name.

Cold laughter was his answer. And a popup timer appeared on his HUD, counting down from ten.

"What in za?" That was all he got to say before the armor on his chest detached and wrapped itself around his head and neck. Isaac raised his hands and scraped against the armor to try to pry it off somehow but armored the spinal protector on the back of his IS stuck a long needle into the base of his neck and injected a bright green fluid into his body. Isaac instantly became limp, but still stood upright as the spinal protector hissed once and detached itself from his neck but still remained on his lower back. A sharp spearpoint like blade flicked out of the top, and the whole spinal protector trailed to the side of him like a tail, twitching and writhing. His IS's feet morphed into wicked talons that flexed powerfully, and the armor that was his chest now formed a half helmet that covered his eyes but exposed his mouth.  
Isaac himself stopped moving, and he just lay in the crater, still as death.

Heart was the first to reach Isaac's motionless body, the ES pilot looked down at the Russian with contempt. "Looks like the kid has had it. What next Club?" He asked, turning toward his ES squadmate, who was also looking at Isaac.

"We follow M's orders, we roughed him up and now we have the battle data we needed. Lets wait for the retreat sign."

Heart chuckled, and raised his Vectors "C'mon Club, we got the kid who turned his back on his own sex lying in a hole. I say we bury him and never have to worry about him again."

Diamond shook his head, "You know the ROE Heart, no killing."

"Hey man, fuck the ROE. This piece of shit is going down today, like it or not." Heart aimed his guns at the fallen Isaac, and began pulling the trigger...

_Crack._

The three ES looked completely dumbfounded by the sheer speed the seemingly KOed boy had moved, and even more so surprised when in that time, he had grabbed Heart's wrist and broke it, even under all his armor. Heart growled in pain as his wrist was forced even farther back, and the Russian began lifting his head, red lines blazing on his half helmet. Isaac abruptly let Heart's wrist go, and kicked him violently back to his comrades.

"What the hell!?" Club finally said.

"Sonofabitch has crazy strength, even for an IS!" Heart said, cradling his wrist before getting back up.

"How is he even still standing? My HUD says he's unconscious!" Diamond exclaimed.

Isaac raised his head fully, and the half helmet split right down the middle and retracted, exposing his face. He had grown notably paler, his complexion a bit more pallid. His normal gruff posture was replaced by a much more smooth composure, and he wore an odd smile. But more noticeable then anything were his eyes, they had turned a bright, strange yellow color.

The smile that played on Isaac's lips finally broke into a full smile. And he looked over the ES pilots with a mix of grim amusement and genuine pleasure.

"Well," He said, all traces of his Russian accent gone, replaced with a more sophisticated voice that was just plain eerie. "You are half right, slave of M. Isaac has been...temporarily replaced for a spell, now I'm in control."

"And who the hell are you!?" Club demanded.

Isaac ignored this question, "I would have been content to let you beat on poor little Isaac to your heart's content, but trying to go so far as to kill him...well thats just a no-no. But I suppose you should feel accomplished to have pulled me into the fight."

"Who are you? Are you Isaac Romanov or not?" Diamond asked plainly, not letting the new Isaac rattle him too much.

Isaac smiled, "So glad you asked." Isaac took a flourishing bow to his foes.

"I'm known as Fever, and I will be your guide to Hell this evening..."

* * *

**Hey hey, sorry this took so long. Leave me a review and tell me whatcha think about this chappie, and get ready for a big ole unexpected battle next time!  
**

* * *

_Next time on Point Blank  
_

_Fever: I will be your guide to Hell this evening..._

_Seolis: I will never forgive what you did to me, to her, EVER!_

_M: The weak are meant to be ruled by the strong, nothing will change that._

_Morozov: We have to stop him NOW, before he kills everyone!_

_Nikolai: Isaac...you have to still be in there..._

_Next time, A Scarlet Fever!?_


End file.
